Library Buildings around the World

consisting of a 30-inch thick slurry wall, a 5-foot-wide buffer space, and a hermetically sealed liner wall—a design that best ensures
the constant humidity and temperature required of fragile tomes, Pratt says. Any book can be retrieved via an automated system
and delivered to patrons in a few minutes. The facility will hold 3.5 million volumes, enabling the university to be one of the few
remaining American schools to house its entire collection of academic research on campus. Visually, the building will look strikingly
different than its neighbor. Where the Regenstein sports narrow windows, the new structure will be sheathed with glass. Where the
Regenstein’s interior is dark and heavy, the dome will convey openness. And in contrast to the Regenstein’s blocky, dominating
profile, the Mansueto’s elliptical form will enhance the open character of the site, while preserving green space around the library
complex. The facility is scheduled to open in 2010.
MWA (Michael Willis) Architects, Oakland, CA – USA
http://www.mwaarchitects.com
Libraries:
Africana American Museum and Library at Oakland, Oakland, CA - 2001
MWA led a team of thirty planners, museum and exhibit consultants, preservation specialists and engineers for this major adaptive
reuse project. The facility is now Northern California’s largest museum devoted to African American history, and draws a national
audience. In adapting the building MWA carefully integrated new uses and environmental controls into the historic structure. As an
historic building on the National Register of Historic Places, all construction was subject to strict preservation guidelines. An
unreinforced masonry structure, the building was heavily damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and had lain empty for
nearly a decade. (MWA)
NAC Architecture, Seattle – USA
http://www.nwarchco.com
Libraries:
Washington State University, Academic Center, Spokane, WA – USA 2006
$ 33.850.000
Located at the heart of the Riverpoint Campus, the Academic Center houses a number of academic programs and administrative
units, as well as the Riverpoint Campus Library. The 106,000 square foot building showcases the 14,660 square foot library, 15
classrooms, two auditoria, a computer lab and 18 academic and administrative units. WSU Spokane is the urban campus of WSU, a
land-grant research university founded in 1890. The campus features advanced studies and research in health sciences and health
professions, the design disciplines, education, social and policy sciences, and science and technology. WSU is one of just 95 public and
private research universities with very high research activity, according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching classifications. In addition, U.S. News & World Report ranks WSU as one of the top public research universities in the
nation. ( http://www.wsu.edu ) Academic Center:http://www.spokane.wsu.edu/aboutWSUSpokane/
Woodrow Wilson High School Library, Tacoma – USA 2006
Awards:
AIA Seattle Honor Awards 2008
Learning in Design, Citation of Excellence 2008
( learningbydesign.biz – Green School Buildings )
Primary challenge: Rejuvenate an aging campus with a single building intervention broader issues: The new building, conceived as a
site intervention, seeks to re-engage the school with its site and poses the question, “Can a high school campus provide some measure
of meaningful public space that is so invariably absent from our typical single family residential neighborhoods?” Is rejuvenating
our aging campuses a vital issue of urban sustainability both in the terms of energy and materials conservation, as well as for
preserving the role of the civic space? Matrix alteration: The building seeks to transform a campus where “site” has long been
relegated to the “space between building modules.” Plaza, yard, stairs, bridge, and walk are carved out of both site and building and
visually and experientially intertwined, creating not only “public” space but real “community.” The project alters the site’s spatial
matrix and transforms its scale and character from uniform and predictable to varying and experientially stimulating. The new
design stimulates social interaction by redefining and animating exterior campus spaces and by establishing engaging transitions
from “private” campus spaces to the broader public domain. The scope: The new three-story building replaces five existing
buildings and eight portables, consolidating and opening up the campus. The regained site area is developed with planting, plazas,
and parking. The new building houses: general classrooms, science and computer labs, a therapeutic learning center, the library,
and administration and guidance centers. This high-performance facility features integrated design strategies providing both
functional classroom daylighting and displacement ventilation. ( http://idesignawards.com )
Shadle Library, Spokane, WA – USA 1997
Awards:
Award of Merit AIA Spokane 1998
The largest of Spokane Public Library's branches, this 17,847-square-foot facility serves northwest Spokane from the northwest
corner of Shadle Park. The gentle curve of the floor plan focuses the user on the park setting and activities to the south. The main
entry was emphasized by creating a glass vestibule that has a dramatic angular shape. The dark-green roof parallels the sloping
ground plane, allowing the low south eave to control the amount of sun entering the reading areas, while the north side of the roof is
lifted to allow north light into the interior and create a segmented rolling edge that becomes a part of the tree canopy when viewed
from the park. (NAC)
Spokane Downtown Library, Spokane, WA – USA 1994
The collaborative process used to design Spokane's 126,000-square-foot, three-story main library encompassed a series of sessions
with the library board and director as well as user groups, making the final building organization a reflection of the collective
wisdom of dozens of participants. Led by NAC|Architecture, the Downtown Library team included associated architect THA
Architecture. The ground floor provides spacious, flexible public meeting spaces and a large grand stairway leading to the library's
public service spaces on the second and third floors. To provide maximum flexibility within the floor plates, the library spaces are
organized by an open-column grid. The southern edge of the grid features large masonry openings that provide framed views of the
historic section of Spokane. The northern edge is a full glass wall showcasing an expansive view of the Spokane River Falls below. A
large roof monitor fills the central volume with natural light, augmenting the lighting system. A grid of ducting for power, data and
telecommunications weaves through the floors of both public service levels, providing ample flexibility for future access. (NAC)
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