The New Library

THE NEW LIBRARYComprehensive Design Studio

Peter Wong

School of ArchitectureCollege of Arts + Architecture

University of North Carolina Charlotte

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© 2011 Peter Wong. All rights reserved.

Publisher – Blurb.

This book is printed with the font Arial Narrow and Arial Poster.

The work in this publication is made possible with support from the School of Architecture, College of Arts + Architecture at University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

http://coaa.uncc.edu/The-college

Inquires about this publication may be made to Peter Wong, Associate Professor at [email protected].

Cover: Structural Scenarios (Thomas Barry).Rear Cover: Concept Model (Anastasia Kransnoslobodtseva).Previous Leaf: Envelope/Wall Section (Michael Bowen).Opposite Leaf: Performative Maquette (Anastasia Kransnoslobodtseva).

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Contents 4 Comprehensive Demands Peter Wong

6 Michael Bowen

14 Garrett Lapping

22 Will Allen

30 Thomas Barry

38 Julius Richardson

46 Anastasia Kransnoslobodtseva

54 Tailpiece

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Comprehensive Fragments

Since Alberti, the profession of architecture has been conceived of and structured as a set of disparate practices composed of various parts, skill sets, and contributing play-ers. Of the many activities that an architect must be profi cient, one could argue that an inclusive or comprehensive view of a project would serve well to account for the wide spectrum of specialties that the profession demands. Even the great Renaissance thinker himself understood that notable architecture was achievable only at the hands of experts (e.g., “master builders”) who possessed a visionary idea of a building which, in turn, led to negotiating various partnerships involved in construction. This tradition of practice, inherited by contemporary designers, recognizes the array of underlying research, policies, contracts, and legal parameters of an expanding profession that is forging professional accountability on all fronts. This revised defi nition of the architect (though more than 500 years old now) reinforces the notion that architects are to em-body knowledge in diverse areas of concern which place them at the center of the work – a position that sorts through the complexities of building that 21st century architects have yet to reconcile. As the popular mantra for all “generalist” activities claims, the architect is a “Jack of all trades, and a master of none, though often times better than the master of one.”

The National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB) in its list of required educational profi ciencies has mandated that “comprehensive design” be a signifi cant portion of the overall skills required of architecture students reaching for professional competency. Many of the agents contained in this “performance criteria” is dependent on of other cri-teria that the NAAB deems important for students to master. Understood at face value, this may seem a duplicitous task, yet if one interprets the intentions of the Board’s requirements then we arrive at an understanding of a synthetic set of skills to be reck-oned with, implying that comprehensiveness is “more than a sum of a building’s parts.” In other words, the degree to which the architect integrates fragments and elements of the larger project of architecture is at the conceptual center of comprehensiveness. Moreover, comprehensive design is, in large part, design itself, a modernist project to plan, reason, and bring to closure an expanding fi eld of issues into a cohesive whole.

Exercises in environmental, structural, material, and life safety systems are segments of knowledge that guide and form many architectural programs. Added to these, in the most recent 2009 NAAB regulations, are the constituent need to: bring together applicable policies that impact design, wrestle with interdisciplinary agents, and edu-cate and advocate client motives and fi scal–related practices. These skills have been

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.

University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.

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added to the more conventional aspects of design practice that typically involve: site planning, formal ordering systems, graphic communication, and the artistic principles of architecture as a creative endeavor. Given this far reaching scope of activities, it re-mains clear that the modern architect must take to heart a wide spectrum of expertise in the expanding world of professional accountability.

The Project

The aim of ARCH 7101 in the Graduate Program at UNCCharlotte is to introduce comprehensive thinking through what designers are best trained for, that is, project synthesis. Rather than delay these skills by relegating them to the end of the degree program, our aim is to introduce them as early as possible with the intention of en-couraging multivalent problem solving, critical exploration, and the acceptance that buildings are inherently composed of a complex set of systemic requirements. At the same time our students are asked to engage comparable and parallel investigations that promotes debate and dialogue.

The projects presented in this book represent a handful of solutions created by our graduate-level design students in the Fall of 2010. The building proposed was for a New Media and Library Center located in four different U.S. cities in four diverse climate regions. All sites were situated on major university campuses calling for an analysis of campus (or city-like) planning considerations. Of the four sites, three are presented in this publication (cold climate: University of Wisconsin in Madison; tem-perate: University of Washington in Seattle; and arid: University of New Mexico in Albuquerque). The students worked initially in groups to perform climate and site/cam-pus analyses, then set out individually to make proposals for buildings.

The program was offered as a general set of requirements (approximately 30,000 to 35,000 square feet). The use of the building was introduced as a dialectic between a traditional library of books and archival materials and the advancement of new media sources that currently question the typical library of the past. The students were asked to create a standard set of analytical diagrams and approaches to life safety, acces-sibility, structure, mechanical, and other technical demands of a complex building pro-gram. They were also asked to create (at midterm) a working “performative maquette” that simultaneously considered the conceptual nature of the building’s planning and character integrated with advanced technical solutions for a more sustainable ap-proach to active and passive responses to light, climate, and site considerations.

Comprehensive DemandsPeter Wong, Associate Professor, University of North Carolina Charlotte

Marco Frascari, Non-trival Architect.

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Towards a Critical Regionalism

Regionalism has dominated architecture in almost all countries at some time during the past two centuries and a half. By way of general definition we can say that it upholds the individual and local architectonic features against more universal and abstract ones. In addition, however, regionalism bears the hallmark of ambiguity ... Despite limita-tions, critical regionalism is a bridge over which any humanistic architecture of the future must pass. [The Grid and the Pathway, 1981]

The project is offered as a set of two design and program challenges:

[a] The placement of the building on the site. Choosing the southeast corner as not only a bounding box placement representing the “termi-nation” of the academic grain of the campus, but also because of the volatility of that place - the watershed and the 100-year floodplain. How does the project develop a dialogue between the prob-lems with that portion of the site, an intervention and its form?

[b] Form and materiality. The history of the uni-versity is that of an experimental farm, both agri-cultural and livestock. How does the project take form under the auspices of critical regionalism and present itself?

Parti sketches.

1/16” diagrammatic model of site.

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1/16” diagrammatic model of site.

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Lakeside Library

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Four Components

[1] The Trailhead

A primary trailhead for the Lakeshore Trail exists parallel to the main entrance and ‘front porch’ of the library. The dynamic of the trail is that of move-ment; people coming and going. In response, the programmatic elements that correspond or relate to that were moved out into that fi rst piece - the classrooms and the lecture rooms. The porch of-fers itself as an intervention between the trail and the library - a public/social meeting and green space. It becomes a transition that allows one to move down either ‘path’ they choose.

[2] The Bridge

The bridge is the element one moves through to enter the main programmatic ‘bar’ of the library. As with many foot bridges, there is a transition from one side to another - a daring and possibly delicate negotiation of the journey. The bridge not only moves a person across the beginning of the washed-out portion of the site, but continues to elevate them [literally] in height as they approach the end, the opposite shore, the library.

Location Maps @ various scales.

Campus termination diagram.

100-Year Floodplain diagram.

Path connections diagram.

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Campus Plan and Site.

Site plan.

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[Four Components]

[3] The Barn

The artifact of the barn is the skin that houses the library program. Daylight is allowed in plenty, but is presented through several layers of screening, shading and protection - the south from sun and the north from wind. The barn is an area of refuge, security and the comfort of easy and familiar ma-terials. It is a place to read and to study, a place to thoughtfully remove yourself. The expanse of the barn [its length] is mediated by the personal scale of the interior spaces. The barn is allowed to reach into the fl oodplain terminating at its fi nal westward reach in a forty-fi ve foot cantilever sus-pended twelve feet over the land.

[4] The Marsh

The marsh has proven to be the most diffi cult component, and yet it is the most natural. Al-though the dynamic of the fl oodplain has been tempered by the fact that Lake Mendota is now dam controlled, the history of the damage remains in the fl ooded topography. More questions remain at this point: does the land simply become an in-tended bioswale - intervening between the water and the building? How does the palimpsest of the fl oodplain control the dialogue between the build-ing and the site? What components best improve and enhance [rehabilitate] the site? How can it be occupied and yet preserved?

Floor slab system.

1/16 Model.

Primary structure. Secondary structure.

Tilt-Up walls.

North Elevation [top] and East Elevation [bottom].

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1/16 Model.

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North Elevation [top] and East Elevation [bottom].

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Materiality

The material choices for this project were always in the range of the reinterpretation of the tradition-al barn...wood, concrete, metal roofing and sim-ple, ample windows. Materials that were honest, authentic, hard-working and durable. A palette of textures and materials that not only acknowledge the history and context of the site, but may be an attempt to offer up a sense of the banal - as a vir-tue - that the architecture looks like it has always been there [Frampton, paraphrased]. Materials that read the passing of time and the weathering of events. And yet it is modern.

You cannot simply put something new into a place. You have to absorb what you see around you, what exists on the land, and then use that knowledge along with contemporary thinking to interpret what you see. [Ando]

Building as Lantern [performative maquette].

3/8” Model Photo

3/8” Section model.

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3/8” Model Photo

3/8” Section model - Lantern Wall.

Material taxonomy.

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3/8” Section model.

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Introduction and Concept

DESIGN GOAL: To use the architecture of the library to create a threshold between the urban area to the west of the site and the academic world that exists on campus to the east.

The intent is to fully engage the heavy pedes-trian traffi c coming from both the southwest and the major pathway that cuts across the site to the north. The edge of the campus, the site of the new library, lacks any kind of monumental threshold and working closely with the slope of the hill. The design not only houses a new library, but also acts as a route to the academic world beyond. The translucent, amorphous south and west façades are intended to create a beacon, especially at night, when the building is lit from the inside.

1/16” Scale Model.

Topographical interaction diagram.Parti diagram.

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1/16” Scale Model.

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University Library Walk

16 City, Site, Environmental Strategies

DESIGN GOAL: Utilize the advantages of Seattle’s temperate climate to enhance the functionality of the individual spaces that make up the new library.

The overcast characteristic of Seattle’s climate offers the ability to broaden the use of fenestration. The southwest section of the building is lightly structured and translucent, fl ooding public spaces and adminis-trative offi ces with natural light. Other spaces in the building have been placed according to program-matic needs, like the classrooms that receive indirect light from the north and the archive buried into the dark recess of the building.

DESIGN GOAL: Integrate the new library into the site in such a way that the experience of the beloved Parrington lawn is enhanced, rather than overlooked.

The southwest corner of the site is nearly inacces-sible, but is surrounded by an awkward pedestrian circulation that links 41st St. and Memorial Way above. The library and the plaza that will improve this route and connect the important urban area below, Memorial Way to the east and Parrington Lawn to the north. The intent is to replace the unusable land on the southwest corner of the site with an exterior pub-lic space, a tradition in Seattle, that will compensate for the building footprint that has been removed from Parrington Lawn.

The design has also been slipped into the hill subtlely to reduce the impact on the lawn and to maintain an unobstructed view of the Seattle skyline from the top of Parrington Lawn and the Gates Law Building. This stategy avoids the lose of indirect daylight to the li-brary’s classroom spaces that line the north façade.

Library Public Spaces & Services

Collection and Media Services

General Public Access

Administrative

Support

Technical

0 3750 7500 11250 15000

PROGRAM BREAKDOWN

Parrington Lawn.

Daylight response.

Spatial analysis.

Program distribution.

Heat retention diagram.

Urban edge condition.

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Site Plan

Campus Plan.

Site reconfi guration.

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Concept and Building Planning

DESIGN GOAL: Redefine the traditional typologi-cal concept of a library to incorporate the new and innovative nature of digital media and notion of the library as a community space.

The program has been reshuffled, placing more emphasis on the public spaces and the proces-sion between them, from the plaza to the south, to the reading room, and to the café and auditoriums to the east. These major spaces have been placed on different levels that correspond to the natural slope of the hill, connected by sloping planes that incorporate digital and analog exhibit space.

Floor plans.

Structural Diagram - Level 1.

HVAC Diagram - Level 1. HVAC Diagram - Level 2.

Structural Diagram - Level 2.

Section B.

East Elevation.

Section A.

South Elevation.

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Floor plans.

Section A.

South Elevation.

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Assemblies, Materials, and Performative

PERFORMATIVE MAQUETTE: The intent of the performative maquette is to explore the reflective qualities of a variety of materials that could poten-tially bring light from the plaza into the building. By utilizing the light reflected into the building, the ground plane can be fashioned to illuminate areas with indirect light while preventing direct sunlight from entering the space. This can be especially advantageous in the exhibition space and digital gallery where direct sunlight can damage artifacts or create glare on digital displays.

MATERIALS: There is an eclectic use of tex-tures and materials throughout Seattle that has been reflected in the design. A careful selection of concrete, steel and glass act as a foundation for the building’s tectonic qualities, while natural materials like wood and native plants humanize the spaces.

The reading rooms and bookstacks, surrounded by the ramping gallery space, are emphasized by a strong material palette, each complementing the others through a juxtaposition of warm and cold. The steel structure is expressed and repurposed timber humanizes the space, creating an atmo-sphere that is conducive to a rainy-afternoon read.

The southern and northern plazas are the primary link between the building, the main lawn and the urban environment in which they sit. Concrete is integrated seamlessly with the warmth of regional wood and greenery.

Performative maquette and the effects of reflected light.

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Southwest exterior perspective rendering.

Material palette.

Southeast exterior perspective rendering.

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Publications are evolving into a new age of exis-tence. This reformation is happening quickly. The word “book” no longer implies the tangible object. It has transcended into the realm of digital media (e.g., Facebook, etc.). It has lost its qualitative characteristics of texture, weight and smell and has been resurrected as an indistinct digital file that can be stored on most any handheld device. This project is an attempt to convey this transition architecturally.

Books will now coexist as the object and as digi-tal media. The library will have to adhere to both methods of publication. The library I have de-signed calls attention to the book as artifact and as digital file. The rare book collection is buried beneath the earth and is connected to the digital media center by a circulation tower. The building’s entire program is beneath the earth, to some ex-tent, dependant upon the book’s importance per the specific program of that space. The digital media center is the only space above ground be-cause the book as an object is no longer relevant.

Orientation of the project also alludes to which oc-cupants may want to access which book typology. For instance, the rare book entry speaks to the city while the occupiable roof and digital media center is directed more towards the student population.

Final site model.

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Final site model.

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City + Campus / Books + Bits

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City, Site, Environmental Concepts/Strategies

There were many infl uential conditions on site that informed the design. The site was located on an existing green where students typically con-gregate. The site is on the edge of the campus boundary at the intersection of 42nd street and Memorial Way. There is a considerable amount of urban activity on 42nd street. The resulting archi-tecture was an attempt to give back the land the project commandeered and to converse with the urban edge along the campus boundary.

The site plan highlights in orange these factors as well as others. There is a preferable view to down-town Seattle and another visual connection to Mt. Rainier to the south. If this project was going to become an entrance point to campus, I wanted to investigate the existing secondary entrance to the south of our site addressed similar issues. Essen-tially, a major street intersects campus and cre-ates a formal court that then creates the campus Mt. Rainier vista.

I tried to learn from these existing conditions to inform the project. More specifi cally, how could the library convey a reciprocal dialog between city and campus? This attention to city and campus relationships helped design the long ramp and public plinth that anchors the architecture into the site. These exaggerated entrances allude to the knowledge the library contains and its availability to the public. The kink in the plan relates back to views of the city to encourage students to explore their surroundings. Theses were just a few factors of the design process.

Performative maquette.

Conceptual diagram for performative maquette.

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Site diagrams.

Site plan.

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The section of this building is the most effective at conveying the relationship between the digital and tangible book. There is a ceremonial procession between the rare collections and digital media. I imagine that either direction of procession would evoke an emotion of appreciation for books. Al-though both spaces proclaim their hierarchal or-der, they are intentionally equal in significance. The interpretation of high is based entirely on the book as object.

The first floor is entirely underground and encom-passes the rare book collections and archive. It also contains the galleries that access natural light through skylights. The city has direct access by means of a long ramp extending from 42nd street. The second floor consists of administrative and educational services. The third floor or ground floor shelters the general collections and other public program. It is two floors of book stacks that root the roof into the structure. This allows the 5th floor to be an occupiable roof allowing direct ac-cess to the digital media center.

Egress diagram.

HVAC diagram. Structural diagram.

Primary circulation diagram.

Five Floor Plans

Section and South Elevations.

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Five Floor Plans

Section and South Elevations.

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Assemblies, Materials, and Performance

The building is embedded into the existing slope of the site. The rare book collection and galler-ies are buried beneath the earth while the gen-eral collections and public program are located above. The structural and material palettes were influenced by the program each space contained. Rare books and gallery installations are read as artifacts within the architecture. Therefore, the built environment acts as a vessel to serve these objects. The general collections serve the commu-nity on a regular basis. Hence the bookcases are allowed to serve the architecture and are directly interpreted as structural elements supporting the occupiable roof.

By interpreting the two programmatic types, the architecture will yield two different places above and below ground. In attempt to accentuate this difference, textured surfaces exist where human occupation intersect with programmatic activa-tion. For example, the cellular structure of the rare book collections adheres to the artifacts it contains. Shelves are tailored to the spaces, therefore any leftover wall space is encountered by the occupant. Essentially, the texture’s intent is to evoke emotion on a human level to reaffirm the importance of these spaces.

My hope was to convey two separate structural methodologies: one stereotomic earthwork condi-tion to serve the book and one tectonic framework condition erected by the book.

1/2” Crossection through Library Stacks, Entry and Archival Gallery.

Peter Zumthor. Bruder Klaus Field Chapel. Textured Concrete

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1/2” Crossection through Library Stacks, Entry and Archival Gallery.

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The design goals for the University of New Mex-ico’s Library project encompassed the entire Fall 2010 studio semester. The design process had to account for issues relating to the urban context, climate conditions, and programmatic functions. Although the building acts primarily as a university library, the building also accommodates spaces for academic use (classrooms, lecture spaces, offices) and public elements (galleries and cafe spaces).

As a part of a State University System, various as-pects of the campus amenities are available to the general public. In addition to reconciling the public and private aspects of the building’s program, the design addresses the relationship of library ame-nities to both city and campus users.

The design for the University of New Mexico’s Li-brary looks to resolve the needs of the campus for which it serves while engaging the urban context in which it resides.

Early massing model (left) and facade model (far right).

Vignette within Library Collections.

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At the Edge of Campus and Community

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Preliminary structural strategies showing the use of frame and planar supports.

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City and Site Concepts/Strategies

The campus of The University of New Mexico is located within the city fabric of Albuquerque, NM, with the immediate site location at the southern edge of the campus juxtaposed between Central Ave and Rodondo Drive. This juxtapositioning of the site between a campus roadway and public street creates a buffer zone or threshold space between the city and campus.

Since the site intrinsically has characteristics of a threshold condition, the creation of an appropriate response to this condition between the urban and campus environment became a primary factor in shaping the development of the design. The two site diagrams show the potential relationships between the parallel roads and the cross streets that terminate at the site. The parallel roads defi ne the edges of the site, and the perpendicular cross streets begin to articulate the organization of pro-grammatic elements within the site.

Environmental Concepts/Strategies

Albuquerque, NM is a hot/dry climate that experi-ence wide diurnal temperature swings. The tem-perature shifting between night and day allows for the implementation of high thermal mass in order to maintain consistent temperatures, alleviating much of the cooling and heating loads for the building.

In order to deal with the heat gain from sun, ori-entation and shading is considered in order to reduce solar heat gain through openings in the facade.

EAST CENTRAL AVENUE

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Campus in relation to city.

Academic functions anchor site to campus.

Outdoor space and gallery for city/campus use.

Gallery / Cafe connection to urban setting.

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Using city grid to inform threshold moments.

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Site in relation to campus.

Site plan and site section.

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Taking into account identifying “the site as thresh-old” from the site analysis, the organization of the building relative to its urbanism aims to create a place which anchors the edge of campus, while creating threshold moments that allow for interac-tion between the city and campus.

The first perpendicular street condition impacts the library by dividing the building into two primary functional components; the library and the aca-demic spaces. This division creates a large pub-lic interior space for both the users of the library and academic spaces. The second perpendicular street is addressed by the removed cafe/gallery space which allows the create of a public space between the primary building and the satellite piece.

The primary structural rhythm of the buildings on the site are five lines which move parallel across the length of the site. These lines act to both de-fine a spatial hierarchy within the building in re-spect to program and circulation, but also act to heighten the sense of threshold as one moves perpendicular across the structural rhythm.

The academic portion of the building uses a paral-lel wall system as its structure system, arranging the program within these wall layers. The structur-al system shifts into a frame system on the library side of the building, allowing for more flexibility and openness to the floor plan. The pavilion which is extended into the landscape goes back to the parallel wall system. This allows for the rhythm of the structure to be clearly read within the parallel walls at both ends of the site.

Building section / elevation.

Extension of public space across the site.

Building floor plans.

Division of academic and library functions.

Structural diagrams.

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Building section / elevation.

Building floor plans.

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Building sections.2

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Interior / Facade Assemblies

The frame and infill system to be implemented in the design was influenced by the British Arts Cen-ter by Louis Kahn, and the Carre’ De Arts museum by Norman Foster. The infill condition on the exte-rior are cast concrete in order both function as a thermal lag for the interior spaces, create an aes-thetic connection to the parallel wall system. The interiors express the concrete walls/frame that make the primary structure and enclosure, using wood as the material to infill the expressed frame.

The north facade will have the largest glazing conditions, maximizing the north light for daylight-ing conditions. The southern and eastern facade have glazing conditions that are either shaded by the cantilevered roof condition or treated by a fritted/louvered condition. On the western facade, a secondary skin of perforated metal will act to diffuse the western light and mitigate direct solar heat gain as the building heats up in the afternoon hours.

Performative Maquette

A study of air movement in relation to different spatial conditions was conducted in order to po-tentially incorporate passive cooling strategies within the building. Further site investigation re-vealed a lack of prevailing wind conditions within Albuquerque, minimizing the effectiveness of any such strategy. Although the study did not directly influence the performance of the building, the idea of controlling/modulating the flows of people re-mained influential. 3/8” partial model of stack area and reading room..

3/8” model showing ceiling system.

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Performative maquette setup for wind testing.

3/8” partial model of stack area and reading room..

Material taxonomy.

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The Campus Media and Library Center designed for the University of New Mexico is a project that aims to combine the media of a traditional library with the anticipated digital media of the library of the future. This programmatic goal is achieved while making the building sustainable using cur-rent and traditional environmental design strate-gies.

The outcome of the design process demands a long linear building of one-story in height. The building’s shape is defined by as series of parallel walls constructed of rammed earth. These mono-lithic walls are covered with a roof structure that has the dual purpose of daylighting and harness-ing the sun’s energy for power. The form of the roof appears like a beaded necklace, which is generated by a strategy to use light to highlight specific features of the plan and program. These features give the building a very horizontal mani-festation with a solid base and a light crown.

3/8” roof study model.

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A Roofscape for Light, Books, and People

Exterior rendering of building on site (left) andinterior view of the Central Stack Area (right).

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Site Investigation and Program Analysis

The project began with an in depth study of the site and program. The site is very long and nar-row site, approximately six times in length as it is wide - oriented with the university campus to the north and the general city to the south. It is located on the bottom edge of UNM’s central campus bor-dered by historic Route 66 on its southern side.

There is also a large, open intramural fi eld located directly north of the site. When siting the building it was understood that this large, negative space should be addressed. The building is placed on the site in such a way as to create spatial enclo-sure for the fi eld. The building also attempts to reach out and make use of the entire site. The walls of the building extend in a way to create different size courtyards and meeting spaces on the building’s east and west facades. The walls attempt to engage the parking lot so to make the building engage the entire site.

Program analysis followed the site investigation. In order to study interior function data was divided into uses and assigned a color. Color-coded spatial volumes were created for the main space and sized proportionally. These rooms were then placed within a matrix according to their needs for: public vs. private spaces, naturally vs. artifi -cially lit zones, and mechanically-conditioned vs. natural ventilated spaces. These characteristics were plotted against each other to better assess and locate the main spaces. This study led to the arrangement of rooms and helped with aperture placement and mechanical zoning.

Private Areas

Natural Ventalation Mechanical Ventalation

Book Stacks

Restrooms

Public Read-ing Rooms

Lobby/Foyer

Privat Study Areas

Reserve Desk/Stacks

Rare Books

Archive

Archive Lab/Conserv

Media Services Lab

Gallery

Electronic Gallery

Cafe

Class-rooms

Lecture Halls

Admin Ofiiceswork room/

translation

Catalog Serch

Securtiy, etc.

SupportTechnical

Natural Light

Lobby/Foyer


Catalog Serch

Book Stacks Restrooms

Reserve Desk/Stacks

Privat Study Areas

Archive Lab/Conserv

Media Services Lab

Archive

Rare Books

Gallery Electronic Gallery

Cafe

Lecture Halls

Artificial Light

Public Areas

Class-rooms

Meeting Rooms

Meeting Rooms

Admin Ofiices work room/

translation

Securtiy, etc.

Support

Technical

Lobby/Foyer


Reserve Desk/Stacks

Book Stacks

Catalog SerchRestrooms

Privat Study Areas

Archive Lab/Conserv

Media Services Lab

Archive

Rare Books

Electronic Gallery

Gallery

Cafe

Lecture Halls

Class-rooms

Meeting Rooms

work room/ translation

Admin Ofiices Securtiy,

etc.

Support

Technical

Private Areas

Natural LightLobby/Foyer

Public Areas

Book Stacks

Catalog SerchRestrooms

Reserve Desk/Stacks

Privat Study Areas

Media Services Lab

Archive

Archive Lab/Conserv

Gallery

CafePublic Read-ing Rooms

Electronic Gallery

Lecture Halls

Rare Books

Artificial Light

Class-rooms

Meeting Rooms


Admin Ofiices

Securtiy, etc. SupportTechnical

Natural Ventalation

Mechanical Ventalation

Private Areas

Lobby/Foyer


Public Areas

Catalog Serch

Book Stacks

Restrooms

Reserve Desk/Stacks

Privat Study Areas

Rare Books

Media Services Lab

Archive

Admin Ofiices

Securtiy, etc.

Archive Lab/Conserv

Cafe

Electronic Gallery

Gallery

Lecture Halls


Class-rooms

Meeting Rooms

TechnicalSupport

Archive

Rare Books

Natural Light Artificial Light

Natural Ventalation

Mechanical Ventalation

Lobby/Foyer


Reserve Desk/Stacks

Book Stacks

Catalog Serch

Privat Study Areas

Class-rooms

Cafe

Gallery

Meeting Rooms

Lecture Halls

Restrooms

Electronic Gallery

Archive Lab/Conserv

Admin Ofiices


Securtiy, etc.Media Services Lab

Support

Technical

Campus map with project site.

Program analysis.

Library functions analysis.

Functional use analysis.

Other Images?

Aerial view of Albuquerque, NM.

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Project site on UNM campus.

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The final plan and form of the building came from a combination of two early partis. The form of the building resulted from the elongated scheme while the room arrangement was generated from the courtyard spaces. This elongated layout de-veloped from the notion of wanting to use the entire site. This scheme combines the desire to use rammed earth walls with the idea of soni-cally separating it from traffic from Route 66. This reinforced the parallel wall layout of the plan. At-tempts were made to minimize doors and to com-pel the visitor to wander way through the grain of the building. A sense of hierarchy and separation of space was permitted by changing the ceiling height and thicknesses of the parallel walls. Light admitted from the roof surfaces was also intended to help guide the visitor from one location to the next. The roof structure also helps to create small spaces within the larger spaces.

The folded roof pattern was developed from the performative maquette studied for the project. Originally the maquette was designed as a stack ventilation/wind catcher/photovoltaic cell appara-tus. This was adapted to the building and trans-formed into a series of photovoltaic surfaces on the south side with light aperture on the north side. This developed through several stages to the final form with two basic repetitive forms. One form is typical for the sloping roof while the other is v-shaped with clerestories on either side. The first creates darker spaces beneath and the second allows light to fill the spaces beneath. Both forms have photovoltaic cells on the south facing slopes. The two forms combine to give the roof a beaded necklace appearance.

Courtyard Scheme

Elongated Scheme

Courtyard parti scheme and study model.

Elongated parti scheme and study model.

Structure Study

Parallel Walls Parallel Walls with Cross Members

Structure study.

Roof plan.

Crossection through roof structure.

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Plan, section, and Route 66 elevation.

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Assemblies, Materials, and Performative

The two main materials chosen were rammed earth and douglas fir. These materials were both used in traditional construction methods of the area, are of similar color palate, and offer an inter-esting contrast to one another.

Rammed earth was chosen because it was a time tested regional building method for dealing with the climate and for its aesthetic qualities. Building a rammed earth wall involves a process of com-pressing a damp mixture of earth that has suitable proportions of sand, gravel and clay (sometimes with an added stabilizer) into an externally sup-ported frame, creating a solid wall of earth. This creates a layered horizontal appearance, which is also desirable for this building type. All parallel walls are to be constructed of rammed earth.

To contrast this heavy, monolithic material douglas fir is employed in the construction of the cross and connection walls. Douglas fir is a dimensionally stable material and universally recognized for its superior strength-to-weight ratio. Its high specific gravity provides excellent nail and plate-holding ability. The color and appearance is also lighter than the rammed earth parallel walls. The wood would be used in vertical strips on the cross walls to contrast the horizontal rammed earth.

Sketch model.

Diagrammatic model of the parallel wall system.

Section model cut perpendicular through the parallel wall system.

Sketch model.

Study models of roof structure.

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Diagrammatic model of the parallel wall system.

Section model cut perpendicular through the parallel wall system.

PASSIVE AGRESSIVEPreformative Maquette

Julius RichardsonProf. Peter Wong Studio 7101

Stack Ventilation & Wind Catcher

The last test attempted to apply both methods at the same time. Smoke was inserted into the bottom level and into one side of the wind catching apparatus. It seemed that both could work at the same time. The smoke drawn up by the stack ventilation was drawn into the circulating smoke brought in by the wind catchers. This smoke was then drawn out the other side of the wind catcher. One problem this might create is a lot of wind turbulence directly under the tower. One solution to this problem may be to place the wind catching entrance and exit on opposite ends of the build-ing. This would cause the cool air caught to run the width of the building and mix with and draw out the warm air brought up by the stack ventilation.

Wind Catcher

The second test attempted to test only the wind catching device. Wind catching devices are usually tall and have openings on all sided. When then one side catches wind it is channeled down into the building, which creates a positive pressure. This creates a negative pressure on the opposite side of the tower, which then draws this air out. Again a smoldering piece of paper was used to produce smoke. This was held at the mouth of one side of the ap-paratus. A fan was then used to simulate wind. The device worked just as planed. The smoke traveled down and circulated around directly under the tower before it was drawn up and out the other side.

Stack Ventilation

The first method tested was the stack ventilation effect of the tow-er. At first dry ice was place on the bottom level in an attempt to have the vapor drawn to the top level. However, the air was just too cold to be drawn up, even with a heat lamp placed next to the tower. Then smoke from smoldering paper was used. This proper-ly demonstrated the effect of stack ventilation. It was noticed that since there was no wind added the smoke rose out of the central stack and the wind catching stack.

The purpose of this preformative maquette was to explore different passive cooling meth-ods specifically for my building and location. An attempt was made to combine several methods and incorporate them into one device. The meth-ods were specifically chosen for the climate of Al-buquerque, NM. The device designed attempted to use the wind in conjunction with stack ventila-tion. The device contained a central stack to allow the hot air to escape. Wind catching apparatuses surrounded this designed to catch wind no matter which way it came from. Tests were conducted to see if the wind catching would work in conjunction with the stack ventila-tion tower. The device preformed better than ex-pected. From the test conducted it seems plausi-ble that wind catching and stack ventilation could work simultaneously. This could prove beneficial because the wind caught could help to cool the warm air on the top floor drawn up by the stack ventilation. A water feature could be added on the floor below the tower to help add moisture and cool the air. Another improvement for further investigation would be spreading out the wind catching devices on opposite ends of the build-ing. This would draw the wind through out the building rather than just under the tower.

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y RAMMED EARTHBuilding a rammed earth wall involves a process of compressing a damp mixture of earth that has suitable proportions of sand, gravel and clay (sometimes with an added stabilizer) into an externally supported frame, creating a solid wall of earth. A temporary frame (formwork) is first built, usually out of wood or ply-wood, to act as a mold for desired shape and dimensions of each wall section. The frames must be sturdy and well braced, and the two opposing wall faces clamped together, to prevent bulging or deformation from the high compression forces involved. Damp material is poured in to a depth of between 4 to 10 in, and compressed to around 50% of its origi-nal height. Once the wall is complete, it is strong enough that the frames can be immediately removed. Walls take some time to dry out completely, and may take up to two years to completely cure. Compression strength increases with in-creased curing time, and exposed walls should be sealed to prevent water dam-age.

Performative maquette studies.

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y DOUGLAS FIR Douglas Fir is dimensionallystableanduniversallyrecognizedfor itssuperiorstrength-to-weightratio.Itshighspecific gravity provides excellent nailand plate-holding ability. The speciesalso has superior performance againststrong forces resulting from naturalphenomenasuchaswinds, stormsandearthquakes.Itistheidealstructuralandgeneral-purpose wood for framing lum-berinresidential,lightcommercial,multistoryandindustrialconstruction. Thismaterialwouldbeusedforthetrussmembersintheceilingandasvertical members in the walls. Verticalmemeberswillbespacedapparttocon-trast with the horizontal appearance oftherammedearthwalls.

Study models of roof structure.

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Wind Catcher


Stack Ventilation



Material taxonomy.





Wind Catcher


Stack Ventilation







Wind Catcher


Stack Ventilation



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The task was to design a library/ media center responsive to a particular climatic condition. The second part of the solution was to make it respon-sive not only to the site but also to the surrounding urban conditions. Lastly, the program was chal-lenging because it was open to the interpretation of individual designer. What is the library today? How has its functions changed because of the de-velopment of internet and online book sources? Those were the questions designers had to an-swer to define the boundaries of their parti.

The parti of this project are simple. Most of the functions are located on the main floor. There are administrative offices located next to the area for the main book collection. Another wing of the main floor is dedicated to the academic functions and consists of classrooms and two auditoriums. The rare book collection is in the basement due to minimal temperature swings below grade.

The library today is one of the last public spaces in the urban environment, therefore the program and the site of this design attempts to make it as publicly accessible as possible. The site, a former parking lot, will be partially transformed into a park. The building stepped back from the street allowing the community to partake in the ameni-ties of the park and outdoor theater adjacent to the services of the library.

The climate of New Mexico is hot and arid with large diurnal swings. High temperature variation signaled the use of thermal mass. High thermal mass wall made of rammed earth in-fill therefore became a dominate feature of the project.

Model showing relationship of the East-West wall and the Media Center.

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Model showing relationship of the East-West wall and the Media Center.

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Media Center as Archival Wall

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Plan, section, facade and site plan representations.

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Alternative structural model studies of the Media Center.

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The aftermath

In 1923 Le Corbusier published a manifesto en-titled Towards an Architecture where he promoted the promise of the machine aesthetic. His state-ment, “The house is a machine for living,” impact-ed how architects would think in the coming years. Eighty years later houses are not machines for living, but rather machines that house machines. The importance of the human element has been lost. The human dimension can return to architec-ture through the attention to the human senses. Of the five senses typically considered, only four can be applied to architecture. The senses of: scent, sight, touch, and hearing in most designs. Time is a dimension that is also not normally con-sidered in architecture. Hence, this phenomenal factor can also play a significant role in design.

The sense of time may be defined as one’s aware-ness of their position in space, in other words, time is about the notion of the present. The pri-mary responsibility for architects is to create an environment responsive to the human senses and a sense of time. This type of environment is visual-ly dependent on its surroundings and at the same time responds to the human condition largely shaped by touch and hearing. Lastly, the material-ity of temporal architecture should be considered when creating environment responsiveness to a building’s inhabitants.

The task of architecture is to create an environ-ment that enhances such bodily experiences. Hence, space and its effects appeal to our human senses and temporal sense in order to become experientially significant.

Parallel wall book archive vault.

Maquette showing experiments with textual light and shadow effects.

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Parallel wall book archive vault. Detail of the textual incision of the parallel walls.

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Alternative maquette studies of light.

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Tailpiece

The New Library

Documents

Transcript of The New Library