Library Buildings around the World

Robert Hoag Rawlings Public Library, Pueblo, CO – USA 2000 – 2003
Awards:
The AIA Western Montain Region Honor Award 2004
Located in Southern Colorado, Pueblo is sited at the foot of the Wet Mountains where the Great Plains meet the Rockies. Pueblo is
both a geographical and cultural crossroads. Native nomadic cultures gathered at the confluence of the Fountain and Arkansas
Rivers living off of the rivers and the grazing buffaloes. Later farmers and ranchers settled the plains with domesticated livestock. In
addition to the natural geography, Pueblo was also influenced by the railroad. A major north/south line crosses a major east/west
railroad line, bringing industry to Pueblo, and resulting in a culturally diverse population. Pueblo’s steel and brick industry brought
migrant workers to the community adding to its demographic diversity. The new library is a careful response to this natural and
cultural landscape. The new 109,000-sf library incorporates the existing site and a portion of the existing library as well as spanning
across Bates Lane to additional property to the south. The new facility will rise five stories, taking full advantage of the views over
the Arkansas Valley and historic Pueblo to the east, as well as distant mountain views such as Pikes Peak to the north, the Wet
mountains to the west and Greenhorn and the Spanish peaks to the south. A south-facing courtyard greets patrons at the library
entry. The new courtyard is planted with fruit trees and is bordered by a reflective pool referencing Pueblo’s agrarian roots and
relationships to water. The courtyard is overlooked by a lobby with glass elevators that extend past the full height of the building
becoming a light beacon at night. Portions of the building are firmly grounded and expressed as a warm tone cast- in -place concrete
analogous to surrounding topography. The sky wing that extends over Bates Lane is anchored by warm tone concrete walls that
buttress both sides of the street which is spanned with a glazed bronze clad wedge that contains primary reading areas and popular
book stacks. Entering the library one is presented with commanding views to the east over the Arkansas River and downtown
through a 56’ tall glazed lobby wall. The main floor contains book check in / check out, the children’s library and a coffee/ juice bar
that opens to the main lobby and entry courtyard. The children’s library defines the north edge of the entry courtyard with a glazed
wall greeting visitors with books and children’s activity while passing through the courtyard to the main entry. Patrons ascend a
grand staircase off the main lobby or take the glass elevator to the second level that houses the library’s main collections. This large
open floor radiates outward from a central hub. The information service desk along with computers and Internet access is located
near the center. The non-fiction collection is housed to the east in a portion of the remodeled existing library. To the northwest,
reference and fiction collections;comprised of new materials, magazines and audio/visual collections, open to planted terraces and
the entry courtyard below, spanning over Bates Lane to the south. The third level houses the library’s special collections as well as
the library’s administrative offices. The heavily used genealogy collection overlooks the courtyard below and is open to mountain
views to the south. The premier Western History collections are open to a two story glazed opening aligned with Pikes Peak to the
north. Administrative offices are located in the sky wing spanning over Bates Lane. Located on the south end of the skywing is a
shaft lounge that opens to a private terrace that is covered by a tapered cantilevered trellis above. Employees have access to a
secondary entry on the south side of Bates Lane. The upper level of the library occupies the highest part of the wedge over Bates
Lane; a special meeting room and 'Infozone' are housed here in a penthouse fashion. The special meeting room contains a catering
kitchen and opens to planted terraces both to the north and south with views of the Colorado Front Range. Cantilevered past the end
of the wedge, the 'Infozone' is aligned with a view to the north and to Pikes Peak.
In association with Executive Architect Anderson Mason Dale. (Predock)
Las Vegas Central Library and Childrens Museum, Clark County Library District, Las Vegas, NV –USA
1990
The fragility of both the desert and the communities which colonize it is apparent when one views Las Vegas, Nevada from the air.
The Strip, Glitter Gulch, and the city form a thin, permeable membrane which keeps the desert marginally at bay. Where the desert
relents, rectilinear grids of grass and asphalt parking prevail. The Las Vegas Central Library and Children’s Museum are built at
the cultural heart of the city where temporary Paiute shelters and later permanent Anglo-American settlements were sited. Visitors
experience the library and children’s museum as desert building and civic monument. These overlays surface immediately in the
Palm Court which signals shelter and convenient automobile access. From this area one follows the water course and sandstone wall
to the entry. Ceremonial elements of the complex impinge on this building forecourt: the conical Birthday Room, the Science Tower,
and the Meeting Room. Access to these pieces is through the lobby fissure which delineates the programmatic bifurcation of the
building — museum to the west and library to the east. The Children’s Library physically bridges this architectural and conceptual
break. Its blue sky metal vault spans from the massive landform of the two-level exhibition areas to the aggregated village form of
the library below. The sandstone wedge which is lodged at the north end of the building houses the administrative areas of both the
Museum and the Library District. From the shared Boardroom at the top level, visitors view a subtly intricate panorama. Fragments
of mountain, desert, casinos, neighborhoods, and technology come into focus from perimeter openings. This visual confluence of
nature, fantasy, urbanization, and science underscores the complexities of the desert environment and the task of making
architecture responsive to its many faces. (Predock)
Mesa Public Library, Los Alamos, NM – USA 1994
Located in the Jemez Mountains, the area is home to rich pine forests, grassy meadows, and dramatic rock formations. The
historical cultural development of Los Alamos, New Mexico has no parallels. This alpine mesa has witnessed numerous settlements:
Native Americans from nearby valleys had used the mesa for summer grazing and farming; late nineteenth century homesteaders
established small ranches and farms there; the exclusive boys’ ranch school of the town was appropriated by the federal government
during World War II to become the home of the Manhattan Project. Most residents of the community today are affiliated with Los
Alamos National Laboratory, an outgrowth of the original military research outpost. The new library is a sculptural abstraction of
and a careful response to the surrounding natural context. Special care was taken in siting the building to minimize impact on
existing trees and vegetation. The library sits low, spreading into a curve on the north side in response to the panoramic views. A tall
wedge built of stone, analogous to the nearby Tufa stone ridges in the Los Alamos area, cuts through the building. Where the wedge
intersects the building, a warm southfacing courtyard is created and serves as the main entry. (Predock)
Prendergast Laurel Architects, New York, NY – USA
until 2001 David W. Prendergast Architects
http://www.prendergast-laurel.com
Libraries:
Rochdale Branch Library Adult Learning Center, Renovation and Addition, New York, Queens, NY –
USA 2013
Owner: Quens Library, NYC Department of Design & Construction, Jamaica, Queens NY, Budget $ 2.200.000
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