Design Institute: Six Space Challenges from Six Libraries | Library by Design
How to convert offices into a public space? How to best meet the needs of students and the general public both? These questions and more were tackled during these Design Institute breakout sessions. Sep 27, 2011Collective brain power got to work on six design challenges from six libraries at LJ's ninth Design Institute, held May 10, 2011, at the Hennepin County Library in Minneapolis. The issues and ideas shared were inspiring and leave lots to consider for any building project.
| In this Article |
| Yankton Community Library |
| Carver County Library |
| Chester Fritz Library |
| Chula Vista Public Library |
| Leech Lake Tribal College |
| Rochester Public Librar |
Yankton Community Library, SD
ARCHITECT MS&R Ltd.
THE CHALLENGE Jammed into approximately 15,500 square feet with space needs topping off at 35,000–40,000 square feet, according to a needs assessment, the Yankton Community Library is very busy, with terrible parking, and no additional space, said Director Kathy Jacobs (front, l.). She recalled hearing that “people called us the 15-minute stop,” because there was nowhere to settle in and linger. Also, families stay away after school because the library is mobbed with older kids. On the list of what’s needed: quiet reading areas, study rooms, a larger children’s section, YA space, and more computers and technology. Together, those service areas could help make it a destination. Still, a bigger building would call for a new site—and investment looks unlikely in the down economy.
THE BREAKOUT With the need for more space apparent but the will to fund an expansion lacking, MS&R’s Jack Poling (facing audience) focused on how to build consensus on what the future library should look like to support the community’s aspirations. Poling and MS&R’s Traci Lesneski (l. of Poling) led a wide-ranging discussion about trends in society and libraries that inform what new space should deliver. These include movement from being a storehouse of materials to being a place to connect to material, a shift from accomplishing singular tasks to multitasking, and more. The goal: to craft and design a message that articulates what the library delivers now, a meaningful picture of how to meet the community’s core needs better, and a strategic vision that conceptualizes what an ideal library would look like. A concept design and program would help make that vision vivid and move the project forward.— Rebecca Miller
Carver County Library Chaska, MN
ARCHITECT PSA-Dewberry
THE CHALLENGE The Carver County Library plans to build an academic/public library as part of an Ed Campus development project in Chaska, MN. The library needs to be positioned both to assist students as well as meet the needs of the general public. Integral to the project is that the library must be self-sufficient and pay for itself by assessing a student fee, managing a copy center, reserving meeting/office space, and developing other revenue streams.
THE BREAKOUT PSA-Dewberry’s (standing, l.–r.) Doug Pfeiffer and Michael Mackey led the discussion with Carver County Library director Melissa Brechon and about 12 other attendees. Among the topics they weighed in on were joint public/academic facilities, the pluses and minuses of some of the revenue-generating ideas, as well as the size and siting for the project. Brechon agreed with one librarian who said that “the library should be the main focus of the development project, and they should be paying us to have a presence at Ed Campus.” “I’ve thought about that quite often since the LJ session,” she said recently. The breakout confirmed for Brechon and attendees that a combined public/academic facility is no longer an issue. “Both public and academic professionals see the need to partner and collaborate in areas once unthinkable,” said Brechon. Though there was no estimated start date or budget for the project at the time of the Design Institute, Brechon said recently that some progress has been made and that a meeting had been scheduled for late summer. “Many in our community think it has been stalled for too long.”—Michael Kelley
Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks
ARCHITECT Humphries Poli Architects
THE CHALLENGE At the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, campus planning has identified the Chester Fritz Library as the logical hub for a new campus intellectual center. The current library facility comprises a 1961 building and a 1982 addition, but neither the public service areas nor the stacks have seen significant change since the initial construction. The revisioning will require remodeled spaces, new furnishings, and new equipment.
THE BREAKOUT Dennis Humphries, of Humphries Poli Architects, suggested participants create a prototype by converting the existing space into an inviting environment for discovery and collaboration. Dividing the breakout attendees into teams of four to five, he gave each a floor plan of the Reference Department and a set of possible elements to display in the new space, redistributing and rearranging it. Then the entire group compared the various configurations, including one from the architects, and discussed them with Wilbur Stolt, the director of libraries. One realization, said Stolt: “I came away from the sessions thinking we needed to gather more information from our primary users—the students.” While the program still doesn’t have enough funding, Stolt believes the “ideas and experiences from the Design Institute will help us meet our objective—a redesigned library space for discovery, education, and interaction.”—Michael Kelley
Chula Vista Public Library, CA
ARCHITECT Engberg Anderson
THE CHALLENGE Take one outdated 1970s library in the heart of downtown Chula Vista, CA, adjacent to a park on one side and with ample parking. Replace lighting and furniture, much of which is original, along with overloaded plumbing and electrical, also outdated. Most important, convert 12,000 square feet of unused administrative offices on a lower-level corridor into usable public space, along with, on the main floor, an unused computer room, a checkout desk that is a dumping ground for tax forms, and a sloped-floor, inflexible auditorium. Also on the wish list are reservable meeting rooms that can be accessed from outside, eliminating the need for staff; seminar rooms for book/study groups; and a teen zone for after-school activities, among other enhancements.
THE BREAKOUT Engberg Anderson’s Bill Williams (below, front l.) and Joe Huberty (front r.), along with attendees and Chula Vista public services manager Stephanie Loney, explored three options. Each was more ambitious, exhilarating, and costly than the last. The low-cost option included situating the service desk in the center for a clear view of the library, opening up a computer commons area, and freeing up the large lobby for youth. On the lower level, enlarge the lobby, leave some space for storage there, convert offices to meeting rooms for community groups, and create more transparency so people can see both in and out of these rooms. Options two and three were variations on a theme that would create lots of open space, including a popular materials media marketplace and a stronger link between the two levels, as well as a separate outdoor space for teens in the park, accessible from the lower level. Both require ripping a hole in the floor and taking out the existing stairs and elevator. Though remodeling plans are on hold owing to local finances, Loney says, “Should we get the go ahead, we will have three exciting options on file to consider.”—Francine Fialkoff
Leech Lake Tribal College, MN
ARCHITECT Cuningham Group Architecture
THE CHALLENGE Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC) plans to replace its tiny 980 square foot library with a new 6000–7000 square foot stand-alone structure that will link to existing buildings, says Melissa Pond, library director (top r., standing). The college has about 230 multigenerational students. The new space must incorporate a Learning Center/Peer Tutoring program, individual and group study space, areas for small gatherings/book readings (and for the drum circle), plus stacks. Other requirements are that the design be as sustainable as possible, that the new building can be effectively monitored by a staff of one or two, and that the price tag be kept in the $2 million range. The library plans to conduct its first capital campaign to raise the money. Besides funding, another unique challenge is maintaining the aesthetics of the Leech Lake Native population; the school is singular in that it specializes in teaching Native language.
THE BREAKOUT Cuningham Group’s Sara Weiner (inset, with associate Chad Clow) led the session in determining what it means for the library to be the heart of the campus—and the community, since the library is open to all. Words like multifunctional, social equalizer, flexible and adaptable, and organic emerged, as did a place that holds cues to the past and provides inspiration for the future. Breakout participants debated aspects of the architects’ designs (one is pictured here), both of which created clear sight lines and traffic flow. Both incorporated indoor and outdoor learning places and classrooms, collaborative spaces, space for children, the archives, and the collection, as well as a café and an area for ceremonial drum performance. Weiner suggested using warm materials, an elongated space set along an east/west axis to avoid the cold winds, and making a connection between the water and the land.—Francine Fialkoff
Rochester Public Library, MN
ARCHITECT HGA Architects & Engineers
THE CHALLENGE Planted in a prime location in downtown Rochester, MN, the 85,000 square foot library is blessed with vast potential to deliver on the need for more meeting space, computer labs, general seating, and collection space. The question is how. As Director Audrey Betcher (below, l.) told participants, the main entrance is on the street level, but an active, and essential, second entrance is at the skyway level through a parking lot—such skyways are lifelines in the Minnesota winter. Unfortunately, that important entry looks like a back door and involves a long tunnel-like walk around half of the building and then a climb down stairs to the first floor to enter the library itself. It needs fixing. Other goals in the planned $11 million project are to gain an additional 30,000 square feet by finishing off the third floor and potentially building up to the fourth to make the most of excellent river views and expand the grandeur of the rotunda reading room.
THE BREAKOUT With so many options to attack in the breakout, HGA’s Jane Dedering (far r.) and Steven Dwyer (above, standing, r.) focused on practicalities like streamlining user flow to keep staff levels consistent, clarifying the user experience upon entry at whichever door, making the kids’ space safe and accessible, and getting folks up and down in a potentially four-story building. They also placed a vast performance/community space on the fourth floor, which gives height while acknowledging weight restrictions. They illustrated how to make that skyway entrance work for patrons and the library by moving the actual entrance closer to the parking lot and along a sight line from a central service desk on the second floor. As the group responded to the ideas HGA presented in a series of plans, excitement grew for the solutions, which included a first floor “marketplace” topped on the fourth floor by a raised rotunda that establishes the library as a destination for users of all ages.—Rebecca Miller
This article originally appeared in print in the Library by Design supplement published by LJ on Sep. 15, 2011. Read on for more Library by Design articles and ongoing architecture coverage from LJ.
