Library Buildings around the World

The design calls for a new sidewalk and plaza area along Bremen Street next to the library, which will range from around 20–26 feet
in width. The sidewalk and plaza will include a continuation of the street trees that line the park, landscaping with native plants,
stormwater management features, a book drop, and parking for bicycles. The current plan includes space for about 20 bikes, but at
the suggestion of a resident at Wednesday’s meeting, that number may increase.
The planners also hope to include in the plaza’s paving some recycled stones from the Works Progress Administration wall that
currently defines the lower edge of the site where the library is to be built. That wall is planned to be torn down so there will be no
barriers between the library and the park.
Architects Mark Oldham and Carla Ceruzzi from William Rawn Associates worked closely with a community advisory committee
on the design, which is planned to score Silver or better on the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design, or LEED, rating system.
The plan met with a generally warm reception among the three dozen or so residents who braved the heat wave to attend
Wedneday’s meeting. But Susan Parker Brauner, owner of local real estate company Parker Associates, raised concerns over plans
to display only a rotating selection of a historic set of paintings rather than the entire series.
The 14 paintings from the series “The History of Shipping” by Frederick Leonard King were another WPA project executed during
the 1930s. The paintings hung in the Jeffries Point branch until that library was closed and they moved to their current home in the
Meridian Street branch.
Mulligan told Brauner that the nature of the new building, with less wall space and more glass, made it difficult to hang every
painting in the set and that it was the planners’ intent to also leave some room for new works of art created by East Boston residents
and students.
Though Brauner contended that the wishes of the community were not fully taken into account in the planning process, Mary
Berninger, a member of the citizens’ advisory committee for the project, commended city officials and the architects for their
attention to residents’ goals and desires for the library.
“Every single professional listens to this community,” Berninger said, “and you may think that when we include so much
information, how can they possibly retain it? The very next meeting every one of them come back, and it was clear that they listen to
us. They listen to all the constituencies. Nobody was left out. And the best thing that happened in the process, everything was done
through the consensus of the group.”
(http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/east_boston/2011/07/plan_for_new_east_bostn_branc.html)
Boston Public Library, Mattapan Branch Library, Boston, MA – USA 2009
Awards:
2012 AIA New England
2011 National AIA/ALA Library Award, National American Institute of Architects/American Library Association
Program: A 21,000-square-foot public library.
Design concept and solution: The Mattapan Branch of the Boston Public Library was designed to honor the mayor’s initiative to
bring important civic buildings to Boston’s diverse neighborhoods. The design opens the library’s front elevation with glazing to
infuse the warm and inviting interior space with natural light. The welcoming transparency allows pedestrians to see directly into
the wood-wrapped interior spaces and reading room. The children’s and young adult’s rooms are placed in the rear for privacy and
protection. Sustainable features include daylighting strategies, water conservation, a cool roof, an on-site stormwater infiltration
system, bike storage, and parking for alternative fuel vehicles.
Gross square footage: 21,000 sq. ft., Site size: 72,000 sq. ft. Total construction cost: $10,000,000
Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge, MA – USA 2009
Awards:
2010 Harleston Parker Medal for the Most Beautiful Building in Boston BSA
2012 CNU Charter Award, Congress for the New Urbanism
2010 Annual Design Review Award, ARCHITECT Magazine (November 2010 Issue)
2010 Honor Award, New England Chapter, AIA
2010 Honor Award, BSA
The Library includes a striking new glass building of 76,700 square feet joined to the restored 27,200 square foot landmark, designed
in 1887 by Van Brunt & Howe and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building has capacity for over 275,000
books, 90 computer stations, reservable meeting rooms and a 220 seat auditorium. The project includes an underground parking
garage with a 33,000 sf green roof and the restored Joan Lorentz Park. The library is open to the public as of November 8, 2009. The
Associate Architect is Ann Beha Architects. ( sse: Ann Beha )
A commitment to sustainability, the building’s main facade is a double-skin curtainwall. It is the first US example that incorporates
all key ingredients of advanced European Double-Skin Curtainwall technology: · 3’-0” Deep Airspace, · Multi-story Thermal Flue,
· Movable 1’-0” Deep Sunshades (Rawn)
Centre Library of Rochester and Monroe County (Bausch and Lomb Public Library Building),
Rochester, NY – USA 1995 – 1997
Awards:
Excellence Design Award, Rochester Chapter AIA 1998
This new Main Public Library is located in the heart of downtown Rochester, adjacent to the new Bausch and Lomb World
Headquarters. A contemporary extension to a 1930’s neo-classical library, it is organized around a civic-scaled interior “street”
linking the city’s waterfront district with its midtown shopping district. The library’s ground floor opens to Broad St. with a series of
tall arched windows, allowing views into the busy Periodical Reading Area (100,000 s.f.). LaBella Associates is the Associated
Architect. (Rawn)
REX, New York – USA
http://www.rex-ny.com
Libraries:
Walter & Leonore Annenberg Center for Information Science and Technology, California Institute
of Technology, Pasadena, CA – USA completed Design Development 2006
Kortrijk Library, Kortrijk – Belgium on design
1st Prize in International Competition
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