Library Buildings around the World

School by a glassed-in colonnade (pictured to the right) that also serves as a weather vestibule to the new library. The new facility is
a state-of-the-art structure that meets the functional needs of a working library within a building that bespeaks of the dignity,
majesty, and tradition of the law itself. The interior organization is integrally related to the exterior massing: an open, airy central
space flanked by denser, less publicly used functions. The heart and soul of the library is the grand reading room, which soars sixty
feet from the first floor to the light monitor above. Fluted Greek columns support and define the space up to the third floor, where
arched openings overlook the reading room. The grand reading room is located within the inner core of the building, lit brightly by a
large light monitor through which the sunshine pours. From the third floor to the base of the light monitor, the walls lean slightly
inward to exaggerate the sense of height. Ease of maintenance was also a consideration. A catwalk at the level of the monitor
provides easy access for window washing and re-lamping of light fixtures. (Woollen)
Grainger Engineering Library Information Center – University of Illinois, Urbana-Champain,
IL – USA 1994
133,000 sqf.
Woollen, Molzan and Partners is proud to have served as the library designer for this facility that, as Chancellor Michael Aiken
commented: “...introduces a new era for the library as a tool for scholarship. There is little doubt that it will mark Illinois as a leader
in information technology for some time to come.” The library houses cutting edge computer and multimedia laboratories, a digital
imaging lab, instructional services labs, and electronic classrooms. It also contains the more traditional reading rooms, seminar
rooms, faculty offices, group study rooms, and stacks for 300,000 volumes. The new library’s classical architecture is respectful of
the surrounding buildings. Its structural engineering design is a major feature of the interior, particularly appropriate in view of the
library’s users and the great tradition of structural engineering at the University of Illinois. (Woollen)
Work AC (Architecture Company), New York, NY – USA
http://work.ac
Libraries:
Kew Gardens Hills Library, Flushing, Queens, New York, NY – USA 2014
This is an expansion and replacement of an existing library. The building is organized around a perimeter of open rooms for adults,
teens, children and staff. This band is capped with a green roof, completing a continuous “loop of green” with the building’s side
gardens.
The façade is a literal “lifting up” of the library’s exterior walls to broadcast its activities to the outside. The apex is the main
reading room at the most public corner, with a second “mini peak” at the children’s room. Between these two peaks, the façade dips
to provide privacy at the staff areas. This concrete beam is also structural, requiring only two columns along its length.
The exterior facade is made from GFRC in a curtain-like pattern of vertical folds. An awning is created by folding a section of this
façade over the street, as one would mark one’s place in a favorite book. (Work)
A rendering of the renovated Kew Gardens Hills Library, expected to reopen in 2014.
A plan to renovate the Kew Gardens Hills Library, a project civic leader Patricia Dolan made a priority before her death last month,
was recently approved by city officials.
The $7.3 million expansion will add 3,000 square feet to the library and include separate areas for adults, teens and children.
Construction is expected to start late winter or early spring of next year.
As head of the Kew Gardens Hills Civic Association, Dolan had argued for years that the current facility was overcrowded and
outdated.
She was struck and killed by a motorist while crossing Hillside Ave. on the way to a meeting last month.
“That library was one of her closest and dearest passions,” said Marc Haken, chair of Community Board 8’s Youth, Education and
Library Committee.
One of Dolan’s earlier victories was convincing the Queens Library to rename the facility, located at 72-33 Vleigh Place, to reflect the
neighborhood. It was previously known as the Vleigh Branch.
While Kew Gardens Hills is known for its large Orthodox Jewish community, the library draws customers from a number of
different ethnic groups.
“Queens Library at Kew Gardens Hills serves so many people who have a diverse range of educational and informational needs,”
said Queens Library CEO Thomas Galante.
He said the renovation and expansion will also include a quiet room for study, self-service check-in and check-out, a “dramatic
façade” and an environmentally-friendly “green” roof.
“It will be like a new library for the community,” Galante said.
Harold Baron, chairman of the Kew Gardens Hills Civic Association, said he and Dolan stepped up their efforts in recent years after
hearing the library renovation would not happen until sometime after 2020.
“We set up a meeting with the Borough President (Helen Marshall) and had expected to make all kinds of arguments about why it
needed to get done and much to our surprise she was completely with us,” said Baron. “The Borough President has been an ally.”
Marshall ended up funding the lion’s share of the project.
The renovation is slated for completion by the end of 2014.
While the library is closed, a temporary facility will open on Main St. in early summer 2012.
Officials said Dolan and her work will be honored at the library through a plaque or other memorial.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/kew-gardens-hills-library-set-7-million-facelift-project-passion-latecivic-leader-patricia-dolan-article-1.989999#ixzz2O6Ss7MiL
WRT – Wallace, Roberts & Todd, Philadelphia, PA – USA
http://www.wrtdesign.com
Libraries:
Haverford Township Free Library, Haverford, PA - USA on design
This new library, to be located on a long-abandoned brown field site, is envisioned as an instrument of awareness and discovery. The
environmentally-compromised site will be restored to health and reintegrated with the neighborhood. The facility is designed around
a dynamic and fluid program of uses aimed at making the place come alive as a vibrant community center. Conceived as an open
and flexible space that can easily adapt to evolving conditions, the new library's design is targeted toward a LEED Platinum rating.
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