Library Buildings around the World

Lake│Flato, San Antonio, TX – USA
2004 AIA National Firm Award
http://www.lakeflato.com
Libraries:
Central Library Austin, Austin, TX – USA 2016
Collaboration with: Shepley Bulfinch
250.000 sqf., $ 90.000.000
It's an exciting time for the Library Foundation, the Austin Public Library and the entire community, as Austin builds a new
downtown central library, scheduled to open in 2016. This new flagship facility, designed by Lake Flato Architects and Shepley
Bulfinch, will sit prominently along Shoal Creek overlooking Lady Bird Lake.
The building’s design employs ambitious sustainable strategies such as energy efficient integrated systems, extensive use of daylight,
a rainwater harvesting system, a vegetated roof and other features that will establish Austin’s central library as the most sustainable
in the country.
The design also captures Austin’s unique character and natural beauty by means of outdoor reading porches, a rooftop garden, a
street level café, and a bike garage.
Update:
September 28, 2012: the Design Development Phase (60% Complete Design) was presented to the Austin City Council.
View the New Central Library presentation document HERE.
October 20, 2011: Austin City Council approved the schematic design, clearing the way for the project to progress into the next
phase of architectural development.
September 22, 2011: the Schematic Design Phase (30% Complete Design) was presented to the Austin City Council. Electronic
drawings of the new facility were on view and comments on its developing design were provided to the consultant architects.
December 9, 2010: City Council approved the New Central Library Architectural Building Program and the recommended funding
plan of $120 million for the New Central Library Project.
To read the Building Program in its entirety, CLICK HERE.
Tentative Schedule for the New Central Library
November 2013 ~ Groundbreaking Ceremony
December 2013 ~ Construction begins
December 2015 ~ Construction completed
Spring 2016 ~ Grand Opening Ceremony
(http://www.austinlibrary.org/site/PageServer?pagename=central_library)
St. Matthew´s Parish School, Los Angeles-Pacific Palisades, CA – USA 2006
9.850 sqf.
Because the old library’s fascia had partially rotted and seismic upgrades were necessary, the architects took the one-story building
down to its posts and beams. They removed various accretions, restoring the massing’s original simplicity. The spirit of Jones and
Emmons, rather than slavish reconstruction, guided the adaptation of the old library to new uses, with skylights added and windows
adjusted to enhance the quality of light and visual connection with the outdoors. Along the facing canyon wall, just a few yards away,
the design team sited the new library and classroom building. A hinged pair of volumes flanking an upper-level bridge, it has
classrooms on one side and the new library, with music and multipurpose rooms below, on the other. Like a treehouse hovering at
the tree canopy, the structure — clad in cedar with stucco to blend with the surroundings — perches lightly on the ground, the
library not exceeding the pad of its demolished predecessor. Long and horizontal, the new building continues the spine of the existing
classroom structures, stitched along the canyon’s face. While the original classrooms were accessed from the back, via a path
between the buildings and canyon wall, the new structure offers entry from generous porches along its front, as well. Replacing
single-story buildings, the new one rises three stories to accommodate the grandeur of double-height library space inside. The result
is an architecture fully engaged with this small canyon, yielding views across it while inviting activity to flow between interior and
outdoor realms. Paths, extending from outside in, thread through the upper campus. Gentle switchbacks, amid native, droughtresistant
plantings, now replace a straight road uphill. The building’s bridge feeds into its porches. Steel-grate rails and wood planks
underfoot bring the language of the porches inside, through a long stair in the library’s double-height space.
(http://archrecord.construction.com)
Great Northwest Library, San Antonio, TX – USA 1994
Awards:
AIA/ALA Library Building Award - 1997
Texas Society / AIA - 1997
AIA San Antonio – 1995
This branch library is located in a rural suburban area where the open, flat, south Texas plain meets the tree-covered, limestone-rich
Hill Country. Located at a major intersection, the main entrance was oriented towards the neighborhood and away from the road to
create a more tranquil atmosphere. Simple, indigenous building forms were used to reinforce the direct no-nonsense nature of the
library. The quieter book stack areas are in low, limestone-clad “pods,” while zones of public activity are in high vaulted spaces with
clerestory windows. (Lake/Flato)
Prim Library, Sierra Nevada College, Incline Village, NV – USA 2006
Awards:
2007 - AIA Nevada Design Award
2006 - AIA San Antonio Design Award
Literature:
2005 - American Libraries (Apr)
Exposed heavy timber construction and layered natural wood interiors reflect the forested location of Sierra Nevada College near
the shores of Lake Tahoe. Nestled into its site, the building conveys the sense of shelter associated with the forest. Inside, a large
reading room occupies the main level, with a stair ascending up to the floors of book stacks. Reading alcoves and study lofts perched
above the book stacks take advantage of the voluminous, light-filled reading room. The three floors and two mezzanines also contain
classrooms, meeting rooms, offices, exhibit space, bookstore and café. (Lake)
The library was conceived as the heart of the campus, fulfilling the College's vision of "high tech, high touch," bringing students
together to learn and interact, and connecting to forest setting. Exposed heavy timber construction and layered natural wood
interiors reflect the forested location of this liberal arts college near the shores of Lake Tahoe. Nestled into its site the building
conveys the sense of the shelter associated with the forest. Inside the library, a large reading occupies the main level, with an
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