Three great projects and two Classics for our 8th selection of previously featured libraries. Check them all after the break.
Vasconcelos Library / Alberto Kalach The project integrates the public library with a botanical garden. A 250 meter steel, concrete and glass structure surrounded by greenery and water. The design is based in four fundamental considerations (read more…)
AD Classics: Denver Central Library / Michael Graves & Associates Michael Graves, one of the most respected and original minds of post-modern architecture, was commissioned in 1990 to renovate and design an extension to the Denver Central Library. Known for his surreal and “entertainment” architecture; Graves’ implemented traditional post-modern motifs of abstracted classical forms, natural materials, and colors commonly found in past centuries (read more…)
Winnipeg Library Addition / Patkau Architects and LM Architectural Group Winnipeg Centennial Library was originally constructed in 1976 as a three-story building occupying a city block and an adjacent public park. The existing library, constructed of reinforced concrete exposed to the interior and pre-cast panel exterior, felt very disconnected from its surroundings including the park (read more…)
AD Classics: Stockholm Public Library / Gunnar Asplund In the early 1900s, the concept of a public library was being adopted by the City of Stockholm in Sweden. Gunnar Asplund was initially hired to help determine the requirements for a public library and then prepare a competition open to all architects. Beginning his research in the United States, Asplund saw first hand examples of the most developed library system in the world (read more…)
Ballard Library and Neighborhood Service Center / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson A multiple award winner for design excellence and sustainability, the Ballard Library and Neighborhood Service Center offers a dramatic face along the street and an extended front porch gathering space for its neighborhood. Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the building is located on a gently sloping site diagonally across from a new city park and leads toward Ballard’s center one block away. Follow the break for further project description, photographs, and drawings of the new library (read more…)
