AIA/ALA Awards Library Designs
WASHINGTON D.C. — The American Institute of Architects and the American Library Association have recognized eight libraries as recipients of the 2009 American Institute of Architect/American Library Association Library Building awards.
The biennial awards honor architects licensed in the United States for the “finest examples of library design.” The jury is made up of architects and librarians. Douglas E. Ashe, of Ashe Broussard Weinzettle Architects, served chair of the jury composed of architects and librarians. Recipients will be presented with awards at the ALA annual conference in Chicago in July. Winners include:
• Arabian Library, Scottsdale Public Library, Scottsdale, Ariz.; richard+bauer architecture LLC. This 20,000-square-foot freestanding structure is a replacement building for a small shared-use facility at Desert Arroyo Middle School. The interior of the large reading room was given an acoustically absorbent perforated wood treatment that reduces noise from adjacent areas to allow for studying and small group activities, according to designers.
• C.V. Starr East Asian Library, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley Calif.; Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. Most of this four-story structure is built into the hilly landscape of the city for a dynamic view, according to designers. Environmentally friendly features include perforated metal screens behind the bronze grilles to prevent 45 percent of direct sunlight from entering the building and reducing the library’s cooling loads.
• Chongqing Library, Chongqing, China; Perkins Eastman. The library is a 490,500-square-foot urban complex complete with hotel rooms for visiting scholars, a public theater, conferencing center and restaurant.
• Biblioteca Central Estatal Wigberto Jimenez Moreno, Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico; Pei Partnership Architects LLP. The library has two volumes interconnected by a two-level glass gallery. The gallery is an access point leading to a central atrium covered by a skylight that connects the three levels of the principle volume.
• NYPL Francis Martin Library, New York; 1100 Architect, P.C. The renovation of the second-floor children’s reading room transformed the “dark, cheerless and outdated space” into a place to “stimulate its users’ imaginations and encourage them to learn through form, color and layout,” jurors say.
• Gentry Public Library, Gentry, Arkansas; Marlon Blackwell Architect. Steel and glass volumes encase existing openings, brick ornament and select walls. Display cases feature artifacts from the library’s collection.
• Minneapolis Central Library, Minneapolis; Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. The roof has a drought-resistant cover with am 18,500-square-foot roof garden to slow storm water runoff and keep the building cool, according to designers. An under-floor ventilation system cuts cooling costs by 20 percent and abundant daylight and energy efficient light fixtures make the building perform 27 percent over Minnesota’s energy code requirements.
• Palo Verde Library/Maryvale Community Center, Phoenix; Gould Evens Associates + Wendell Burnette Architects. The building complex houses a 16,000-square-foot library and a 27,000 square-foot community center. The design and building layout was planned around a recreation park that includes a public pool.