Insidethisissue - aha Creative Ink

ooks and articles and have
access to the journal databases.
The wireless network extends
Internet access beyond the walls
of the library to the café and
surrounding grounds.
In a sense, the new library is
without walls or at least very
permeable walls. The building
itself embodies this idea. The
soaring wall of glass on the
south side floods the interior
with natural light and allows a
visual connection with the
world outside.
From the upper level a student
can gaze out over the
rooftops of town to the treecovered
hills on the horizon
while contemplating the relationship
of nature and culture.
Photovoltaic panels atop the
rough log pillars transform sunlight
into electricity. The massive
rammed earth walls are
penetrated by openings with
window seats. From the west
windows we look out onto
Butte Creek as it flows by on
its way to the Colorado River.
The Information Commons
is both an idea and a place. The
idea is that informed and active
citizens are essential to a free
society and that a place must
be designed to serve that need.
The Prescott College mission
statement recognizes the need
to nurture people who “think
critically and act ethically with
sensitivity to both the human
community and the biosphere.”
The Crossroads Center is an
effort to embody those ideals.
Photos by Bridget Reynolds
The new library has many inviting spaces to relax and read.
Students take advantage of the new computer stations in the library. Beetle-killed pines make a dramatic fronting for the new library.
Fall 2004Transitions
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