Woodland Hills Branch Library

Woodland Hills Branch Library

Architect: Barton Phelps & Associates

The Woodland Hills Branch Library is a recently renovated library in the city of Woodland Hills California. Although the original library was built in 1962, the need arose for an upgrade in strength, safety, and mechanical systems to accommodate a growing local community.

Barton Phelps & Associates was commissioned to design the project and although the use of brick and timber referenced the previous structure, the new design is much different in many ways.

The first of these is the layout. Different reading rooms, rows of shelves, and computer desks are organized around a central staff area. Each corner of the library designates a different area organized by age group: Adult, young adult, and children areas with a variety of media such as books, music, and movies. There are five rows of computer stations, providing much-demanded Internet access

The main circulation happens between the entrance and the two staff areas, the reference desk and the checkout area. Adjacent to this main public space is the large northern extroverted reading room with vaulted ceilings, collaboration tables, and a collection of recent media. On the opposite side, there is an open reading area for children with an enclosed Storytelling Area near the corner.

The private areas include the checkout counter and circulation room downstairs, as well as the mechanical room and office area upstairs. Public areas upstairs include a large meeting room and a patio courtyard.

The Woodland Hills Branch Library was the solution to a problem: accommodating the influx of new residents, meeting updated building codes, and providing access to an expanded variety of media to the public.

Nick Schwaller/Diana Rodriguez

The Rebirth of Community

Internet is taking the place of books as a means for research resulting in some libraries downgrading their inventory and priority on providing physical reading materials. In an effort to reestablish books’ importance and significance, KARO Architekten has designed and developed an open air library in a small community in Magdeburg, Germany. The building itself is recognized as a bookshelf while the plaza offers the citizens of Magdeburg a place for social interaction. Located on a corner of three major intersecting streets, the 5,000 square foot project gives the neighborhood the revitalization it desperately needed.

This project was initiated by the community and through the use of beer crates, reused remains of a local warehouse, and the donations of books form the locals, the library was constructed and filled in June of 2010. The German based firm was able to construct the new landmark on the very limited budget of $400,000.

Many refer to it as a library of confident, since anyone in the community is are to take one of the 30,000 books without any registration. The community is trusted to bring the borrowed books back in a timely fashion and the shelves are always open – 24/7. Not only does the library serve as a location for the spreading of knowledge, but it also functions as central gathering place, in the community, for arts like poetry, singing, and music.

by Joshua Hines and Christoph Stahel

The Poetry Foundation, John Ronan, Chicago

The success of a library lies in its ability to incite a curiosity powerful enough to immerse one in the peaceful, immaterial world of books.  John Ronan’s Poetry Foundation, in the heart of urban Chicago, subtly intrigues and draws its visitors in.  A perforated zinc encasement seals the structure away from the noisy city streets and a narrow passage lined with trees lures guests into the large courtyard center.  At the end of the courtyard, 36-foot-tall glass walls reveal the two-story library lined floor to ceiling with brightly colored books.

“The Poetry Foundation is comprised of a building in dialogue with a garden created through erosion of an implied volume as described by the L-shaped property boundary,” said architect John Ronan. The carefully sandblasted concrete foundation acts to unify the outdoor and interior spaces, paving the garden courtyard as well as the ground floor.  Each of the main spaces has a view toward the courtyard, and another cluster of trees rises within the stairwell.  Ronan has successfully engulfed his library within a luscious, green paradise, allowing visitors to feel very calm and removed from their dense city home.  A small step up, from the sidewalk, into the space forces visitors to be conscious of their journey from the moment they enter the courtyard. 

            It is the harmony of its contradictions that make this a compelling structure.  The project celebrates its urban, central location, bordered by noisy Chicago streets, yet it succeeds to provide a quiet center for work, inspiration, and performances.  This is accomplished by simple, clever solutions in acoustics, involving double layered glass, fabric lined ceilings, and a tree-filled courtyard, which will continue to improve as the trees grow.  The project also focuses on transparency, and openness to the public, yet seeks removal from the city.  The building is transparent, as it is primarily composed of glass, however an exterior zinc wall, perforated alongside the courtyard, acts as a case, like the cover of a book.  The zinc wall protects and removes the building from the city, but teases its public just enough to invoke curiosity. 

            The materials of this project were carefully chosen , to cohesively communicate their message.  Humble in nature, each material is isolated as single, bold, continuous component of the building.  These diagrams reflect how each component stands independently, but together they unravel, slowly revealing one room after another. 

Blair Kamin of Chicago Tribuneconcludes, “This is a mature work of architecture, one that, like fine poetry, is about subtle, slowly unfolding pleasures, not facile one-liners.” The poetry foundation succeeds in its goals to help poets pursue their art and raising poetry’s profile in the public.  The structure’s light, transparent nature directly contrasts with the rest of the districts’ dense, concrete towers, immediately casting it in the limelight.  The interlocked dialogue of the garden and the building continue to direct curiosity through the entire sequence of spaces, culminating in the performance room.  The architecture reads like a riveting poem that leaves visitors provoked and inspired.

 

The Oberkirch Media Center

The Oberkirch Media Center by wurm+wurm architekten looks oddly out of place in such a small rural town. Surrounded by traditional German buildings, the media center attempts to tie in the town’s cultural values while introducing a different connective device found in media.

On the outside of the structure, we find a very angular façade. But upon entering the media center, one is introduced to a space filled with organic curves and softly delineated spaces. No matter where you are in the building, each one of the three floors allows access to small group space, independent space, group gathering, and access to the exterior. At the core of the building, the central staircase acts not only as a connection between the three floors, but as a naturally diffused light well, view corridor, and ventilation highway. There are spaces with tucked away couches, brightly colored, light filled, and inviting. There are rooms painted sterile white and able to accommodate large groups of people. And of course, there are areas where both technology, communication, and the simple act of existing are able to functionally co-habitat.

At it’s core, The Oberkirch Media Center is a place meant for community. It is a new kind of library- one where people of all ages are brought together to view their city’s archived history. It is a center where old memories are stored and new technologies are experienced and utilized. Above all it is a place of community existence. Functioning with moments of rest, moments of contemplation, moments of learning, and moments of debate wherein the community as a whole grows through the interactions inherent within the program of the architecture.

-Braelyn and Jacob

The Seattle Public Library

The Central Library of The Seattle Public Library redefines library as not just a place for books, but as a community media center that offers access to information in all of its forms. The Central Library, by Rem Koolhaas, OMA, stands out as a prime example of modern conceptual architecture. After studying the progression of books as a media along with current media technology, OMA architects began to design a building that could be adapted to meet the needs of our ever evolving society. The eight layers of the building alternate between five stable spaces meeting traditional program demands and three dynamic, multi-functional spaces. These spaces are then arranged to take advantage of the sites best qualities, reacting to the urban conditions and view corridors. The five stable compartments are intersected by the Reading Room, Mixing Chamber, Living Room, and Children’s Library.

To unify the different layers, the building was wrapped with a metal and glass skin that not only provides lateral stability, but also brings in large amounts of ambient natural light. The glass used was unique in that it is opaque when viewed from the exterior, making the library appear as one unified body.

The largest programmed space is the book spiral, designed as a parking lot for books. With all of the bookshelves along one continuous path, the Dewey Decimal system becomes natural and intuitive, making hundreds of bookshelves manageable and easy to navigate. This dynamic system also allows for a library to easily expand its collection of books. The large multi-use spaces such as the Living Room and Mixing Chamber, along with smaller private rooms such as the music practice rooms, provide a multitude of spaces for creative interaction and exploration. The variety of versatile spaces creates a library that not only stores books, but provides the community with a public source of inspiration.

-Patrick and Emily

Schertz Library

The Schertz Public library, located at the heart of Schertz, Texas is 30,600 square feet and was completed in 2009. Designed by Kell Munoz Architects, it serves not only as a library, but as a community space as well. Recently Kell Munoz received an award for the architecture and design of the library by the San Antonio chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

The building is located in a park near a recreation center and in plan is a basic rectangle with a circular cutout for an outdoor courtyard to separate the children’s library and the adult’s library. In section, the roof creates a “V” shape to acknowledge the cities history of aviation. The library was originally built to honor the community and serve as a space where the community can come together. According to Andrew Rosenberg from an ArchDaily article, “the client desired a building that would reflect the spirit and character of this traditionally rooted but forward looking community.” This was done through the use of materials found in the neighborhood’s residential buildings and modern technology while still keeping a connection to nature. The large red oak tree carves out a space in the middle of the library in order to celebrate the natural environment. Large windows span the north-facing walls to let in natural light while protecting the books from extreme sunlight. This creates a light, airy environment that allows people to have a connection to the outdoors while still being protected from the elements. Since its completion, the people of Schertz have come to appreciate the new community center for the opportunity it provides them to connect with each other.

By Malina and Ana