Library Buildings around the World

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A major marker of this support is the consistent commissioning of first-rate architecture. The Burton Barr Central Library, by Will
Bruder + Partners, set a rigorous standard when it opened in 1995, and since then a half-dozen or so branches—most recently the
Palo Verde Library, by Gould Evans and Wendell Burnette [RECORD, October 2006, page 124], and the Desert Broom Library, by
Richärd+Bauer [RECORD, January 2006, page 96]—have put public libraries on the itineraries of serious architecture tourists. The
latest addition to the tour is the Arabian Library, another Richärd+Bauer project. The Arabian is located in exurban Scottsdale
(and named, by that city’s custom, for a breed of horse). The natural setting is stunning, with the 4,000-foot-high peaks of the
McDowell Mountain Preserve dominating vistas to the northeast. The built environs are humdrum, with acres of resale-ready
blandburbs stretching to the edges of the protected range. But it is precisely this contradictory context that has spurred the designers
to produce a conceptually rich and ambitious building. As architect James Richärd says, “We struggled with the ordinariness of the
surroundings, with the minimarts, the chain stores, the surface lots. How, in the midst of this generic development, do you make an
authentic place?” Richärd and his partner, interior designer Kelly Bauer, answered this question by creating a place that looks
inward—“that creates its own context,” as Richärd says—and that connects strongly with the natural landscape. The designers were
inspired in particular by the local geology of the slot canyon: the deep and narrow sandstone ravines, carved by rushing water, that
are such striking features of the southwest. The challenge of the inspirational metaphor, of course, is to control it, and not the other
way around. Happily, the designers have maintained command of their motivating image (as they did at Desert Broom, where a
nurse tree informed the parti). At Arabian, the architectural experience of the canyon starts as you approach the entrance and are
confronted by the Minimalist and elegant composition of weathered steel (architourists will be strongly reminded of Richard Serra,
and forgiven for Photoshopping out the concrete-tile roofs of the nearby production homes). The experience continues as you wind
along a narrow path defined by the reddish-brown walls, which angle slightly inward; a shallow channel, lined with smooth rocks
and (sometimes) filled with water, runs along the edge of the building. A couple of turns and you arrive at the protected entry court,
where a simple planting bed contains a specimen palo verde tree and hopbush shrubs. This indigenous landscaping sets off a sitespecific
artwork by Seattle artist Norie Sato, which consists of a steel-and-glass-appliqué relief and a freestanding sculpture, both
based upon the skeletal structure of the prickly pear cactus.
Cesar Chavez Library, Interior Design, Phoenix, AZ – USA 2007
see: Line and Space, Tuscon AZ
Quincie Douglas Library, Tuscon, AZ – USA 2005
Client: City of Tucson
Richard + Bauer employs lean lines, brittle materials, and arcing forms to dramatic effect in a desert setting
When last we left Richärd + Bauer, an up-and-coming architectural office in Phoenix, Arizona, it had just completed the delicately
limned Desert Broom Library in its hometown [Record, January 2006, page 96]. In the fast-growing sunbelt states, public libraries
appear to be the building type du jour, and this firm, having completed five lean, Modern branch libraries, with four more under
construction, could claim to have cornered the Arizona market. Its principals, James Richärd, AIA; Kelly Bauer, an interior
designer; and Steve Kennedy, AIA, have now taken on Tucson, where their pavilionlike Quincie Douglas Library opened last year.
The brittle materials of the one-story structure, marked by a Cor-Ten-steel roof and rusted steel fencing, blend in color and texture
with the flat, dry desert backdrop, while the library′s curved and angled planes stand out rakishly against the monotony of nearby
suburban sprawl.
In 1999, the Tucson-Pima library system organized an anonymous design competition for a 10,000–square-foot branch that would be
located adjoining the Quincie Douglas Neighborhood Center on the dusty outskirts of the city. Serving an area of about 70,000
people, many of whom are low-income and Hispanic, the library would provide a reading room for retrieving books (numbering
about 50,000) from the open stacks, plus rooms for lectures, conferences, and computers. Financed through city bonds, the library
was budgeted at $1.3 million, or $130 per square foot.
Since the 1.5–acre site occupies a quadrant at a heavily trafficked crossroads, Richärd + Bauer projected a pedestrian bridge that
would cross a six-lane highway and connect residential development on the east to the one-story library and the existing community
center.
Paralleling the extended arc of this steel-and-concrete bridge (which is still unbuilt), the firm designed the library′s roof, clad in
corrugated Cor-Ten-steel panels, to split in two long "petals" so that one portion lifts up slightly above the other. The architects
filled in the space between the petals with polycarbonate resin sheets to create a clerestory that admits daylight to the library′s
interior.
A relatively simple structural system kept the costs down: A steel frame infilled with wood truss joists supports the roof, while
concrete block, either stuccoed or sandblasted, constitutes the exterior walls, except where the Cor-Ten-steel roof slides to the
ground at the entrance. The polycarbonate-resin sheets in the split roof reappear in the clerestories on the south and east walls and
again in pyramid-shaped faux skylights over the meeting rooms.
(http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/bts/archives/libraries/06_QincieDouglas/overview.asp)
Desert Broom Library, City of Phoenix, AZ – USA 2004
15,300 sf / 2.9M / Completed November 2004 LEED Certified
The library includes a collection of 61,000 pieces, which will expand to an ultimate collection size of 100,000. Additionally the
building houses a meeting room, computer training room, group study, youth/teen space, periodicals living room and staff support
spaces.
concept
Borrowing from the symbiotic relationship of a young saguaro cacti and its nurse tree along the arroyos edge, the expansive roof of
this branch library creates a shaded microclimate, providing filtered daylight, shelter and a nurturing environment for intellectual
growth.
The roof form extends above an adjoining arroyo 60’ out into the natural desert, creating indoor/outdoor transitional spaces
providing and a seamless transition into the desert. These outdoor reading spaces are enclosed and shaded by a series of coiled metal
screens, following the natural form of the arroyo, and are cooled by building relief air. The roof is penetrated by a series of openings
allowing filtered light into the interior and exterior spaces. Each of the openings is treated with a fritted or colored glass creating an
ever-changing series of colors and patterns throughout the space, culminating above the children’s area.
Within the framework of the roof a series of volumes contain the meeting room, information cubes, staff and computer training
areas. Mechanical systems are enclosed within these volumes completely eliminating ductwork and allowing for indirect lighting
throughout. Above each of the primary service points within the building “Digital Information Cubes” display ever changing
representations of digital information which can be seen from the exterior during the evening. (Richärd)
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