Library Buildings around the World

The iconography of Oklahoma is known for its burning sunsets, emblazoned sky over endless prairie grass, silhouetting the elements
of industry and agriculture. The horizontality of the landscape permits extensive uninterrupted vistas of the sky, which produce
spectacular fireworks of light and color as the daily cycle of the sun passes overhead. The native prairie grasses have gradually given
way to agriculture, but the furrowed fields still provide the same effect; a uniform landscape under an all encompassing sky.
The implements of agriculture and industry have become commonplace along the horizon. Both the iconic windmill tower and the
ever prolific oil derrick can be found throughout the city, in sometimes the most contradictory of settings. The silhouette of the
trussed tower against the horizon is a representation of the strength of the people of Oklahoma who have persevered in the face of
adversity.
Borrowing from this unique sense of place, the design of the building integrates this iconography in the form of the library; the
horizontal roof form, supported by a series of derrick like skylight monitors, bracketed by native grassed earthen knolls. (Richärd)
South Mountain Community Library, Phoenix, AZ – USA 2011
Client: Maricopa County Community Colleges District, City of Phoenix, Size: 54,600 sqf, Cost: 16.3M, Completion Date: August
2011
Sections – Courtesy of Richärd+Bauer, Design Team: James Richärd, AIA (designer + principal-in-charge), Kelly Bauer, NCIDQ,
FIIDA (project manager + interior design), Stephen Kennedy, AIA, NCARB, Andrew Timberg, AIA, LEED AP (project architect +
construction administration), Will Craig, RA (construction administration), Staff architects: Mark Loewenthal, LEED AP, Alex
Therien, RA, NCARB, LEED AP, Brant Long, RA, LEED AP, Stacey Crumbaker, NCIDQ (interior design + signage), Claudia
Saunders (interior design), Melissa Pulsifer, SEGD, AIGA (graphic design + signage)
This new 51,600 square foot facility combines the functions of a modern public library with the components of a state of the art
central campus library. The library includes a 200 seat multifunctional meeting room, conference and multimedia center, high tech
classrooms, computer center, quiet and interaction rooms, as well as all the components of both public and academic libraries. A
children’s library and storytime room are organized below the academic story telling institution with vertical connection to the
exterior courtyard dedicated to the children’s use.
The building is modeled after the architecture of an integrated circuit, providing insulation between disparate functions and
promoting interaction and connection between like functions and spaces. Academic programs affiliated with those within the public
library are organized around vertical interconnected spaces; providing a discrete connection while maintaining critical organization
within each discipline.
Natural light is brought deep into the floors below through a series of triple insulated clerestory monitors and light shafts. The
interior of the building is lined in an acoustical cedar wood, frosted and laser cut acrylic panels reflect patterned abstractions of the
agriculture that once was an integral part of the community. An accessible flooring system allows for continual reorganization of the
building, while all services are distributed by a continuous illuminated distribution circuit, accessible throughout its length for
flexibility. The articulated skin of weathering copper is designed to provide a naturally ventilating skin, and triple layered insulated
clerestories provide a high performance enclosure.
(http://www.archdaily.com/291105/south-mountain-coomunity-library-richardbauer/)
Prescott Valley Library + Yavapai College, Prescott Valley, AZ - 2009
Client Town of Prescott Valley, 55,000 sf / 20M / completed October 2009
The facility houses both public library and community college functions, creating a unique and diverse program for the building that
includes adult, teen and youth reading spaces, common areas and multi-use facilities. The facility also utilizes advanced RFID and
self-service technology throughout the Library.
concept
Located in the high desert of northern Arizona and inspired from a regional lava dome, the design of the library becomes an
eruption of the site. A folded corten skin and glass window wall wrap the outer shell, dramatic lava boulders fall into the courtyard
spaces, organic flowing floor patterns extend inside/out. The skin detail wraps to the inside of the building and transfers into an
exposed cedar ceiling surface that can be seen from the first and second floor of the library, forging an expansive reading room vista
driven by the concept and client objectives. Within the interior, each programmatic element rises from the floor plate defining and
transforming places into stimulating environments that the library patrons can experience as a reflection of the site.
The building is organized around the central community focus, the public meeting space, this is a place where the community comes
together for public meetings, lectures and performances. The library is organized around the meeting spaces, flanked by the town’s
partner in the project Yavapai College, classrooms and offices. The building is adjacent to a new parking area to allow patrons to
walk at grade into the building, and a series of terraces and an open walkway connects the new building to the existing city hall and
amphitheater area, enlivening this relatively unused area.
The purpose is to capture that feeling of adventure and wonder, as the building unfolds to the visitor, with an overarching roof form
providing shade and protection from the wind and rain, and the central meeting spaces rising from the library and community
college, providing the same vistas to the public, reconnecting them with the environment and the amazing views. Additionally, with
the height of the auditorium space, we created a open meeting space at the top of the building, that serves as a central beacon, a
campanile, for the civic complex, capturing the drama of the eruption of Bald Mountain, that gave birth to the valley. (Richaerd)
Sunrise Mountain Library, Peoria, AZ – USA 2009
Completion Date: January 2009, Gross square footage: 22,000 sq.ft., Total construction cost: $7.7 million
By Jenna M. McKnight
In the political realm, Phoenix generally toes the conservative line. Fortunately, when it comes to civic architecture, the city takes a
more progressive stance. A case in point: In 1995, residents celebrated the opening of Will Bruder’s colossal Burton Barr Central
Library, which quickly earned icon status in the Valley of the Sun. In the following years, as Phoenix expanded at breakneck speed,
prominent Southwest architects were tapped to design a string of branch libraries, many of which have appeared in Architectural
Record.
The Sunrise Mountain Library, conceived by the local firm Richärd + Bauer and finished in 2009, marks yet another example of the
city’s willingness to embrace singular architecture. Constructed for $7.7 million, the 22,000-square-foot building rises from a partly
developed swath of land in Peoria, a municipality in northwestern Phoenix. Surrounded by rows of bland, beige homes, the library
adds some much-needed pep to a suburban neighborhood.
This is familiar territory for Richärd + Bauer. In addition to the Sunrise project, the 14-member practice has designed four other
libraries on its home turf, including Desert Broom Library [RECORD, January 2006, page 96] and Arabian Library [RECORD,
June 2008, page 96]. The firm, paired with Haydon Building Corp, won the Sunrise commission in February 2006. “We were rooting
for them from day one,” says David Hunenberg, Peoria’s library manager. “Our residents had put up with a branch library in a
high school for 10 years, and we thought they deserved the very best.”
171