Go West, Look Inside

The architecture and interior design firm richärd + bauer of Phoenix must be doing something right. After winning three awards in the first ALA/IIDA Library Interior Design Competition, sponsored by the Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) of the American Library Association (ALA) and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), in 2006, the firm won another three in the second competition this year. In fact, Arabian Public Library in Scottsdale, AZ, which collected the “On the Boards” award two years ago for a project not yet built, this year achieved the Best of Competition. Given that two of this year's awards were for projects “On the Boards,” it's a good bet we'll see another building from the firm in the 2010 challenge.

Work by richärd + bauer has a distinctly Southwestern aesthetic, harmonizing with the rugged natural landscape but playing off the not necessarily inspiring features of exurban development. “We struggled with the ordinariness of the surroundings, with the minimarts, the chain stores, the surface lots,” architect James Richärd told Architectural Record. “How, in the midst of this generic development, do you make an authentic place?” Richärd and interior designer Kelly Bauer aimed to look inward but gain inspiration from local geology and incorporate desert light.

Other winning projects integrate hot colors for teen spaces and flexible movable walls, while still others emphasize wayfinding with signage that pops.

More than 100 projects were submitted from throughout North America. The judges were Joseph Rondinelli, associate IIDA, senior associate, Shepley Bulfinch, Boston; Steven McCollom, IIDA, AIA associate partner, Gary Lee Partners, San Francisco; Drew Harrington, director of library services, University of Portland, OR; and Kathryn Page, principal with Page and Moris, San Francisco. Jennifer Busch, editorial director of Contract Magazine, facilitated the judging.

Winners were honored at the ALA/IIDA Library Interior Design Awards Reception during the ALA annual conference in Anaheim in June.

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Academic Libraries
30,000 SQ. FT. AND SMALLER
Susan P. and Richard A. Friedman Study Center, Brown University, Providence
Architecture Research Office (ARO), New York

This new study center, at 27,000 square feet, occupies the three lowest floors of the 14-story Sciences Library, in the center of campus. The plan focuses on the basement, known as Level A; designers created several distinctly decorated and furnished “microenvironments,” allowing for effective study space. Collaboration rooms feature glass walls users can write on. Signage divides the space according to decibel levels. The budget involved $1.8 million for furniture, fixtures, and equipment, plus a portion of the $4.5 million architectural cost for upgrades for the entire Sciences Library.

OVER 30,000 SQ. FT.
Hastings College of Law Library, University of California, San Francisco
SmithGroup, San Francisco 

In the renovation and reinvention of this large (169,000 square feet) library, the circulation area was expanded and complemented by a two-story staircase, aimed to add dynamism and a point of navigation. Brightly colored study rooms and open reading areas are clustered around vertical openings. Most ceilings were raised. Book stacks are at a perpendicular orientation to window walls, allowing daylight and offering increased shelving capacity. Large seating/study areas pop up intermittently among the stacks.

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Public Libraries
30,000 SQ. FT. AND SMALLER
Arabian Branch, Scottsdale Public Library, AZ
richärd + bauer, Phoenix

The $4.6 million Arabian Library, which is currently undergoing LEED certification, aims to bridge a building and its surroundings. Organized around a central court, the structure is entered through a “canyon” of steel and glass. Walls of weathered steel plate reflect the terra-cotta stone as they lean overhead. The interior of the reading room is clad in sustainable Peg-Board™, which absorbs noise. The sedimentary rock formation of the surrounding canyon is recalled in the zebra-wood veneer of the service desks.
That's not the only award for this library; richärd + bauer also garnered one of three Smart Environments Awards, cosponsored by the IIDA and Metropolis Magazine. They recognize designers that assimilate beautiful design with sustainability in a creative, functional way.

Honorable Mention
North Branch, Durham County Regional Library, NC
The Freelon Group Architects, Durham, NC

OVER 30,000 SQ. FT.
Maplewood Branch, Ramsey County Library, Maplewood, MN
HGA Architects and Engineers, Milwaukee

Designers of this 31,000 square foot library aimed for and accomplished several goals. To achieve LEED certification, they used daylighting, low-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints, recyclable carpet, and recycled ceiling panels, while the rain garden filters runoff. The library respects its surroundings in nature, integrating trees into the deck; reflecting the red color of maple leaves in various panels, paint, and surfaces; and layering the physical form of leaves into signage and graphics. Reconfigurable collections, downsized staff desks, and simple, rectangular spaces aim for flexibility. Also, a variety of light levels and colors, coupled with age-specific collection areas and an actual hearth, contribute to the concept of a community living room.

SINGLE SPACE

The Loft, Evanston Public Library Teen Room, IL
Nagle Hartray Danker Kagan McKay Penney Architects, Ltd. and architectureisfun, Inc., Chicago 

A team including the library's original architect as well as a firm that specializes in family-centric learning environments drew on the library's Teen Advisory Board to create a space that is physically separated but not isolated, allowing both research and study areas along with room for social activities. The closed-door Loft was carved out of underused space on the third floor, with a neon sign, lounge seating, study carrels, and both mod and task lighting. The Reading Bar, a café-inspired counter, knits it together. The 2000 square foot space is part of a $2.4 million project to renovate both the children's and teen areas.

INNOVATION IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Center, University of Toronto–Mississauga
Shore Tilbe Irwin & Partners, Toronto

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OUTSTANDING HISTORIC RENOVATION PROJECT
Historic restoration
Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, New York Public Library
Davis Brody Bond Aedas, New York

Adaptive reuse
Fleet Library, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence
Office dA, Inc., Boston
The 55,000 square foot Fleet Library, opened in 2006, represents the adaptation of a historic banking hall, more than quadrupling the amount of library space on the RISD campus. It houses art and design volumes, magazines, and multimedia, as well as group study areas, classrooms, and offices. Given that architects couldn't fit the entire library program within the existing open plan, designers positioned two new pavilions in the hall, providing new spaces, including a reading room and a circulation island. A “living room” in the center is framed by such islands, which can be dismantled if necessary. The project budget was less than $200/sf.

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ON THE BOARDS
Prescott Valley Public Library, AZ
richärd + bauer, Phoenix



Honorable Mention
Harmon Branch, Phoenix Public Library
richärd + bauer, Phoenix