Library Buildings around the World

separated from each other by a conventional stack of office floors. “People would come in and they would say, ‘Spertus is dead. Why
doesn’t anybody come here?’ ” recalls the institute’s ebullient president, Howard Sulkin. “There would be 700 people in the
building. There was no way you could know that because everything was compartmentalized.” For its new home, located directly
north of the old one on a former vacant lot, Spertus chose Krueck and Sexton over three highly regarded finalists—James Stewart
Polshek, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, and Rafael Pelli. The winning team wasn’t just brilliant, they were the best listeners, Sulkin
said at the time.
Nevertheless, it took Krueck and Sexton several tries to develop a scheme that achieved the delicate balance of form and identity the
client sought: A bold contemporary statement that would, of necessity, respond sensitively to the Michigan Avenue street wall, which
Chicago had declared a landmark district in 2002. At the same time, the building would seek to communicate the Jewish values of
learning and culture through light while it expressed the institute’s identity as a civic institution, “not a ghetto institution,” as Sulkin
puts it. (http://www.archrecord.construction.com)
Kruger Bensen Ziemer (KBZ), Santa Barbara, CA, Ventura CA – USA
http://www.kbzarch.com
Libraries:
Library / Academic Resource Center, Allan Hancock College, Santa Maria, CA – USA 2006
23.000 sqf.
The integrated Learning Resources Center includes a Library, a Learning Center and an AV/Media and Instructional Materials
Development Center. The column and brace structural framework, clad in pre-finished metal, is exposed and expressed as an
architectural feature. A central circulation core is defined by a three-story metal-clad wall running diagonally through the building.
Pedestrian bridges provide links at the upper levels. The core’s translucent roof allows daylight to filter into the building’s interior.
The Learning Center contains 360 networked computer stations surrounded by ancillary support spaces. Also located on the first
floor are a 108-station tutoring/group study area, a series of audio-visual production studios and a live TV studio. The second floor is
devoted to the Library. The library capacity is over 116,000 volumes with 205 reader stations and 49 reference stations. The third
floor consists of a rooftop penthouse of faculty offices, many with ocean views. The offices are served by covered walkways separated
from the roofing surface by a raised landscaped planter. (KBZ)
Library & Learning Resources, Center Ventura College, Ventura, CA – USA 2005
Remodel: 23,300 sqf / New Construction: 22,530 sqf
Awards:
American Institute of Architects, Ventura Chapter Design Awards, • Library & Learning Resource Center, Ventura College
KBZ provided architectural services to design a new 2-story addition to the existing library. The addition includes: open computer
learning lab, tutoring labs, media services rooms, and offices. The existing library was remodeled to meet current technology and
functional requirements. (KBZ)
KSA see : Kline, Swinney Associates, Nashville TN
KSS Architects, Princeton – Philadelphia – USA
http://www.kssarchitects.com
Libraries:
Kean University, Human Rights Institute (Nancy Thompson Library), Union Township, NJ – USA 2009
Kean University, Nancy Thompson Library, Union, New Jersey, FIRM KSS Architects LLP, CLIENT Kean University
AREA 81,000 sq.ft., TOTAL COST $5,000,000.00, COMPLETION DATE 4/1996, The addition, attached to a corner of the existing
library, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, COST PER SQ FT $62.00, FEATURED IN 1998 Architectural Portfolio
Kean University wished to enhance the library’s position as the focal point of academic life on campus. Encompassing 20,000 square
feet of additional space on three floors, the renovation and addition expanded and reorganized the existing library to encourage
more frequent, skilled library use by students.
Construction of the project was phased to keep the existing facility in continual operation during construction.
∗ Architect/Engineer: KSS Architects, Reynolds Group, Vanderweil, CMX (previously named Schoor DePalma)
∗ Construction Type: Renovation/Addition
∗ Basic Information: 12, 500 square feet, 3 floors, New curtain wall façade, ∗ Status: Appropriate permits in place Anticipated
Bid Advertisement—November 8,2007, Project Completion—Summer 2009
A new, highly visible entrance closer to pedestrian walkways. The first floor exterior walls adjacent to the main circulation spine of
the campus were designed with extensive glazing, allowing glimpses of the library within and encouraging passersby to enter. Special
study areas include the Holocaust Resource Center, featuring a suspended curved wood ceiling, and a casual lounge located inside
the main entrance.
The reference desk was renamed the information desk and placed directly in front of the main entry so that students could seek
assistance immediately upon entering. The stacks were completely reorganized in a main-street fashion to ease book finding.
Brick and cast stone were used for the addition and continued the strong grid pattern of the original structure. Aligned cast-stone
bands connect the addition to the original building. (http://kean.edu/admin/uploads/pdf/purchasing/forms/ConstructionProject.pdf)
KVA see Kennedy & Violich Architecture, Ltd., Pittsburgh,PA - USA
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