Library Buildings around the World

To accommodate the growing City of Sammamish, the Sammamish Library decided to move to a larger site to accommodate a new
20,000 square foot facility within the Sammamish Commons. The new building is sited immediately to the south of the Civic Plaza
edge. Large expanses of glazing and programmatic elements such as the meeting room, cyber bar and teen area overlook the plaza.
Below this glazing, a plaza seat wall, landscaped zone and vertical green plantings greet visitors. The library space main reading and
stack area contains skylights and clerestories of both translucent and clear vision glazing to reduce the need for artificial lighting and
create a warm and inviting space. This main space terminates in a great reading room concept that draws people to the glazed edge
with views to the west overlooking the nature preserve, Olympic Peninsula and Seattle skyline. A gas fireplace in a concrete finish
and glass enclosure provides a central gathering point at this great reading room. Wood elements mark a progression through the
library and include the entry lobby signature wall, meeting room walls and ceiling and lower column enclosures in the primary
reading room. The children’s area overlooks the new eastern lawn which includes a reflexology path, native plantings and a grove of
birch trees. Sustainable design practices have been a top priority in the development of the site and the building. In order to reduce
the impervious surface on the site, parking is located under the building with an elevator to access the library floor. In addition, the
library’s lower roof is planted with low maintenance, native sedum to reduce the water runoff from the roof. Water runoff from the
exposed parking area is infiltrated into the site through pervious surface parking and an on-site rain garden. The new library
features a highly insulated and efficient building envelope designed to reduce heat gain and loss while maximizing passive solar gain
and daylighting. The primary cooling and heating for the building is through a radiant slab with a mechanically assisted ventilation
system. (Perkins Will)
Fuqua School of Business, Breeden Hall and the Ford Library, Duke University, Durham, NC – USA 1999
– 2008
90,469, sqf., LEED NC Silver Certified
Breeden Hall and Ford Library is our most recent project for the School of Business. It is part of our phased, long-range planning
effort to provide a physical framework for collaborative learning and research and the result of a successful 14-year working
relationship with the school. Breeden Hall is linked to the Fox Student Center and East Fuqua campus by a three-level skylit atrium,
an extension of the school’s mallway. It is designed with a great sense of openness and transparency in the interior common spaces
and library as well as the natural landscape outside. The program includes business-style classrooms, executive lecture rooms with
distance learning and TelePresence capabilities, breakout and team rooms and large multipurpose rooms that open to an outdoor
roof terrace. The TelePresence classroom provides business school students with access to professors, business leaders and guest
lecturers located around the globe. The 18,000 square foot Ford Library, located at the second level, provides students with a
spacious setting to support browsing and the more intense studying that occurs during the short 6-week terms. It is designed for
reader comfort with abundant natural light, a variety of comfortable lounge seating, reading tables and generous display space.
(Perkins)
Stanford Auxiliary Library III – Rare Book & Collections Archive, Stanford University, Stanford, CA –
USA 2000 – 2004
The Rare Books and Collections Archive at Stanford University achieves a fine balance between highly technical requirements of a
complex building and the need for a warm, inviting work environment. Stanford Auxiliary Library III provides high-density
archival storage for 2.88 million volumes in a low-temperature and low-humidity environment. Due to the extreme value of the
collection, risk management informed almost every aspect of design, including site layout, structural systems, envelope detailing, and
the development of state-of-the-art fire detection and suppression systems. Future phases are planned to quadruple the storage
capacity of the facility. Due to the relative isolation of the site and its location in an industrial park, creating a pleasant work
environment with a reading room, staff lounge, offices and processing space was important. Interior and outdoor gardens provide a
landscaped buffer and bring a sense of intimacy to the facility. Work areas are characterized by generous natural light and warm
colors with abundant views of the distant hills or adjacent gardens. The exterior palette of buff-colored split-face concrete masonry
and precast panels, reflects the hues of the coastal hills and brings some of the character of the Palo Alto campus to this outpost.
(Perkins)
Oak Park Public Library, Oak Park, IL – USA 2003
104,000 sqf.
Awards:
Signage & Environmental Graphics Category, 2005
American Corporate Identity Annual Corporate Office over 30,000 SF Category, 2004
ASID, Illinois Chapter
In collaboration with building architect Nagle Hartray Danker Kagan McKay Penney, the Perkins+Will Branded Environments
practice developed a new public library for Oak Park, a reinvigorated educational and civic meeting center adjacent to the city's
central park space and across from Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple. We based our interior design, finishes, environmental
graphics, wayfinding and new identity system on a series of experiences to "open the door to a community at home in the world of
learning." We integrated the inspirational concepts of "discover, connect and participate" throughout the facility, including the
community space, main lobby, children's educational "exploratorium" and glass-enclosed elevator shaft. Our design solutions
expressed the spirit and rich diversity of Oak Park and created a destination in the heart of the community for today and decades to
come. (Perkins)
Stanford Auxiliary Library III – Rare Book & Collections Archive, Stanford University, Stanford, CA –
USA 2000 – 2004
The Rare Books and Collections Archive at Stanford University achieves a fine balance between highly technical requirements of a
complex building and the need for a warm, inviting work environment. Stanford Auxiliary Library III provides high-density
archival storage for 2.88 million volumes in a low-temperature and low-humidity environment. Due to the extreme value of the
collection, risk management informed almost every aspect of design, including site layout, structural systems, envelope detailing, and
the development of state-of-the-art fire detection and suppression systems. Future phases are planned to quadruple the storage
capacity of the facility. Due to the relative isolation of the site and its location in an industrial park, creating a pleasant work
environment with a reading room, staff lounge, offices and processing space was important. Interior and outdoor gardens provide a
landscaped buffer and bring a sense of intimacy to the facility. Work areas are characterized by generous natural light and warm
colors with abundant views of the distant hills or adjacent gardens. The exterior palette of buff-colored split-face concrete masonry
and precast panels, reflects the hues of the coastal hills and brings some of the character of the Palo Alto campus to this outpost.
(Perkins)
Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Campus Plan and Academic Building, Shuzhou – China
2006 – 2018
http://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/about/development/
407.000 m²
Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University – the first independent Sino-foreign university in China – is a partnership between
Xi’an Jiaotong University and the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom. The University’s vision is to develop a
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