INTRODUCTION
The library is first and foremost a resource and service to its community. While the traditional role of the library as a resource is still relevant, the library of the future must also be able to adapt to new and unforeseen community needs. The proposed library is able to house private spaces for dedicated studying, public spaces for social interaction and everything in between. But beyond those needs that a current library serves, it must adapt to suit other needs of a modern community center: guest lectures, local art galleries, film screenings, and craft workshops, private tutoring, the list goes on. In order to accommodate such a variety of services, not to mention innumerable others that have yet to emerge, the library needs to be easily adaptable. New technologies will be developed and the community will have new requirements for its library. In order to “future-proof” the library and avoid costly renovations in the future, the library is designed to be easily updated, and its various components modified. This is made possible through a reconfigurable “resource ribbon” with panels that are both modular and replaceable. These removable panels allow easy access to electrical, mechanical, and audio-visual systems, but also provide a means for assimilating to technology and systems in the future.
SITE / COMMUNITY RESPONSE
Beyond the internal programs of the library, the project aims to become a destination and an experience for the local community. Drawing people from the southwest corner where crosswalks lead from nearby food and shopping, a path leads the visitor through a rhythmic progression of both landscape and architecture. The library becomes more than an isolated building on a site, where the visitor is insulated from their community. By relocating the parking below ground, the site is opened up to serve as a plaza. Here, public art can be displayed, community events can be held, local residents can picnic, and friends can meet up for coffee; all these in addition to the experiences within the library. Large ribbons soften the transition from the library’s interior to the park outside, extending the influence of the library space. In this way, the project acts as not only a destination for the community member but also an extension of the community itself.
MODULAR RIBBON
The “resource ribbon”, which wraps the entire building, is the key to the library’s ability to meet current physical & programmatic needs as well as adapt to those in the future. This ribbon is comprised of a space frame, which is clad with removable panels. The structure will house the mechanical, electrical, and audio-visual systems. The panelization of the floors, walls and ceilings makes it easy for these systems to be modified or updated in the future without costly renovation. The panels themselves can be reconfigured to suit the function of the adjacent space.
OPEN PROGRAM
Because the ribbon houses all resources necessary for the library’s functions, the space itself is a blank canvas. Panelized walls, floors and ceilings, windows with mechanized louvers, movable nanowall interior partitions and adaptable furniture can be reconfigured to suit various current programs as well as those that develop in the future.
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