Library Buildings around the World

opportunities of the site. From the road, the design recognizes the site’s exposure to vehicles traffic and the potential West LRT
along Meadowlark Road. For the pedestrian and patron, it offers the community a friendly welcome by using transparency to open
its south and west faces to the passerby. The design addresses the challenges and opportunities of building in Edmonton’s climate.
The large southern exposure of glazing will invite considerable sunlight and thermal comfort during the winter, while being shaded
from the summer sun by a combination of an overhang, sunshades, glass coatings, and trees. Additional natural light will be
provided by the glazing on the north facade, while the more opaque east/west facades will limit the heat gain that comes from the
horizontal morning/evening sun. The roofscape is designed to shed water and melting snow through a series of peaks and troughs.
The concrete structure will be insulated and clad with a metal roofing system. Although the materials were chosen in part for their
durability and ability to express a sense of civic permanence, they will be used in a sinuous form that also evokes an inviting and
playful softness. The concrete structure will be exposed to the interior space, which continues over the entry plaza. Sustainability on
all fronts is a central focus. The design seeks to create a memorable space of lasting social value. The functional longevity will be
strengthened by an open, flexible floor plan that can accommodate future reorganization and adaptation. Environmentally, the
facility will use the LEED® standard (aiming for a minimum of LEED® Silver certification) to ensure sustainable strategies. The
project will incorporate a public art component through the Edmonton Public Art program. While a specific artist/work has yet to
be determined, the expectation is that the artwork will be thoughtfully and meaningfully integrated into the architecture and site.
(http://www.e-architect.co.uk)
ekm (Emond, Kozina Mulvey) architecture, Montréal, QC – Canada
http://www.ekmarchitecture.com
Libraries :
McGill University Redpath Library, Cyberthéque, Montréal, QC – Canada 2008
The redesign by ÉKM and B + H Architects addresses both the library user experience and the radically changing nature of library
collections and functions. Nowadays, says Douglas Birkenshaw, a partner at B + H, "the library needs to be a door onto the digital
world, and the librarian the doorkeeper." That's certainly the case at the Cyberthèque. No longer a container for physical books, the
space instead provides easy access to McGill's growing collection of over two million electronic books and over 50,000 journal
databases. "Whereas a hard-copy book may be borrowed 60 or 70 times in a semester, the electronic version will be downloaded
10,000 times," says Janice Schmidt, McGill's director of libraries. "The library has to reflect that reality."
Arthur Erickson († 2009), Vancouver, BC - Canada
http://www.arthurerickson.com
Libraries:
Walter Koerner Library, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC – Canada 1997
with: Architectura and Aitken Wregglesworth Association
see also: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC-Canada 1965/ Donald Kaufman Library, Los Angeles, CA – USA 1987
see also: http://www.images.goggle.de (Walter Koerner Library)
€ 24.000.000
In 1991, the area immediately to the west of the underground Sedgewick Undergraduate Library was confirmed as the site for
Walter C. Koerner Library. Construction began in January 1995. Sedgewick/Koerner continued to operate, maintaining most
library services. The two underground floors of Sedgewick were renovated and upgraded to current library and safety standards.
These two levels were extended on the west to become the base of the new construction between Old Administration, Mathematics,
and the Math Annex. The Walter C. Koerner Library opened officially on March 10, 1997. The new construction extends five stories
above the level of the mall. The new design, while classical in order and structure, is modern in material and technology, with a
central entry on axis with the Main Library and a tripartite vertical organization into base, body, and attic. The base is composed of
a battered granite wall, complementing the materials of the Main Library. The granite is from the same quarry as the granite used
on the Main Library. There is a course of clerestory windows and a continuous planter above. On the front façade, the three mid
levels are sheathed in a flush plane of glass shielded by a system of external glass screens. The transparency of these levels allows the
building to 'read' as a library and permits the maximum amount of appropriately screened daylight into the building.
Level seven, the classical attic, is set back from the levels below. This level is finished in a sloping natural zinc roof. Zinc is a soft grey
material that weathers and ages well. This is also the major material of the side elevations. The back façade is clad in stucco with a
grid of diamond-shaped windows. The central nave is top-lit by a shallow vault of translucent glass. Walter C. Koerner Library
totals 17,200 square metres: 7,000 square metres of new construction and 10,200 square metres of renovated space from Sedgewick
Library. Functions within the building are composed of 54% for collections (6,420 shelving units for an approximate total of 800,000
volumes), 25% for service and offices, and 21% for 920 study spaces. Funding was through donations to UBC's World of
Opportunity Campaign, with matching funds from the provincial government and the President's discretionary funds. It is named in
honour of Walter C. Koerner, recognizing his lifetime commitment to and support of the University and the Library and his
substantial gift toward the construction of Koerner Library. ( http://www.library.ubc.ca )
FGMD Fournier Gersovitz Moss Drolet & Associés, Montréal - Canada
Fowler Bauld & Mitchel, Halifax, NS – Canada
http://www.fbm.ns.ca
Libraries:
New Halifax Central Library, Halifax, NS – Canada 2014 (in construction)
see also: Schmidt Hammer Lassen Kopenhagen, Denmark
Client: Halifax Regional Municipality
People in Halifax had a look at what the city's new $55 million Halifax Central Library will probably look like at a meeting
Thursday night — and their final say in its design.
The architects unveiled scale models and colour slides of the publicly inspired structure that will replace the aging library across the
street.
Construction will begin next spring at the corner of Queen Street and Spring Garden Road, and it will bring a modern look to an
historic city.
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