South Mountain Community Library

South Mountain Community Library

21. januari 2013

South Mountain Community Library
2011

Phoenix, AZ

Client
Maricopa County Community College District and City of Phoenix

Architect

Richärd+Bauer Architecture
Phoenix, AZ

Design Principal
Jim Richärd, AIA 

Principal Project Architect
Stephen Kennedy, AIA, NCARB

Principal Project Manager
Kelly Bauer, NCIDQ, FIIDA

Project Team
Project Architect: Andrew Timberg, RA, LEED AP
Construction Administration: Will Craig, RA
Staff Architects: Mark Loewenthal, LEED AP BD+C, Alex Therien, RA, LEED AP BD+C, Brant Long, LEED AP BD+C
FF+E Specification: Stacey Crumbaker, NCIDQ, Assoc. IIDA
Teen Area Interior Design: Claudia Saunders
FF+E Specification: Maura González, Assoc. IIDA
Graphic Design: Melissa Pulsifer, SEGD, AIGA 


Structural Engineer
Rudow+Berry, Inc.
 
MEP/FP Engineer
Energy Systems Design
 
Civil Engineer
Dibble Engineering
 
Landscape Architect
Kimley-Horn & Associates 
 
Acoustical Consultant
McKay Conant Hoover
 
Lighting Designer
Roger Smith Lighting Design
 
Library Consultant
Drew Harrington Associates 
 
Contractor
Haydon Building Corp
 
Site Area
2.91 acres

Building Area
51,600 sf

Photographs
Bill Timmerman, Timmerman Photography, Inc.

Drawings

Richärd+Bauer Architecture

Southwest corner

What were the circumstances of receiving the commission for this project?
 
Richärd+bauer responded to an RFQ for the South Mountain Community Library. Maricopa County Community College District and the City of Phoenix were looking for a new joint-use facility that integrated the social, academic and educational aspects and functional requirements of a college campus library with the community-based nature of a public library. The new library accommodates the needs of campus requirements for vivid, innovative pedagogy, and the city’s need for a fresh vital community library. 

Campus entry

Can you describe your design process for the building?
 
Form: The architecture of the new Community Library reflects the complexity and interconnected nature of both the information and the programs which it houses. The relatively simple form of the building is derived by the extrusion of program elements both vertically and horizontally, creating opportunities for internal interconnections, exterior views, natural daylight and access to exterior spaces. Modeled after the architecture of an integrated circuit, the building provides insulation between disparate functions and promotes interaction and interconnection between like functions and spaces. 

View from second level

Organization:  Due to the duality of the building, it has two entrances; from west and the community college, and east from the public parking. The building integrates the varied uses of a contemporary public library with the needs of an academic media center, allowing for each to function both independently and collaboratively. The public library functions occupy the ground floor, incorporating discrete areas for children, popular library, teens and media collections as well as public meeting rooms, café and technical services. Academic programs affiliated with those within the public library are organized on the second level around vertical interconnected spaces, providing a discrete connection while maintaining critical organization within each discipline. 

Site plan

Materials: The structural steel building is sheathed in a natural copper rain screen, patterned as an abstraction of the digital bar code. Five insulated rooftop lanterns introduce light into the core of the building down to the first level and provide a soft lantern effect during evening operating hours. The interior of the building is lined with cedar strips reinforcing the simplicity of the form; the ventilated surface is a highly absorptive acoustical liner. Abstracted agricultural patterns are digitally imprinted on the skylight liners and laser cut from the surrounding guardrails, tying the building to the history of the area. Recalling the pattern of a circuit board, building systems are organized and expressed within an independent distribution soffit, which also integrates the ambient lighting for the space. Thin accessible flooring provides flexibility for power and data for the changing needs of informational spaces.

First floor plan

How does the building relate to contemporary architectural trends, be it sustainability, technology, etc.?
 
Libraries are inherently tied to the transformation of informational systems that are changing at an exponential pace. From its earliest inception as a repository of information to its current modality as a spatial/informational interface, the library continues to evolve. The challenge is not to capture a moment in time, but develop an open ended flexibility. 
 
New materials and fabrication techniques are becoming more commonplace and accepted. The ability to cross the boundaries between digital media and the final product has created a new freedom. This applies to the use of digital models for fabrication and ‘software to production’ such as the water jet cut aluminum panels. New adhesives and fabrication processes have allowed us to look at how glazing can be both surface as well as aperture.
 
Through advancements in building materials and energy modeling data, sustainable buildings do not have to sacrifice quality of design. High performance curtain wall systems allow for floor-to-ceiling glass, uncompromised control of natural daylighting and vision glass that are critical to mitigating energy consumption and maximizing user productivity.

Second floor plan

How would you describe the architecture of Arizona and how does the building relate to it? 
 
Contextually, the site was once home to fertile agricultural valleys and groves of citrus.  The desire for understanding and reflection of the community and institution has required us to dig deeper into the historical and cultural context of projects. Embedding this into the project has us working as historian, archeologist, arborist and artist.  It is manifested as a bosque of trees, reticulated hardscape, ribbons of flower beds and native vegetation inundating the site.
 
South Mountain Community Library represents the challenge of unifying diverse entities into a cohesive, functioning whole.  Simple materials: copper, wood, steel, aluminum, glass and acrylic come together in a straight-forward manner, but are composed in such a way to form a rich, complex expression that is exciting and compelling.   Gardens and vegetation uncover the agricultural foundation of the community in rows of indigenous plantings and carefully articulated hardscape while the sun dances off the copper façade alternating with expansive glazing revealing interior spaces. Upon entrance, one is presented with light filtering through the monitors. Graphic patterns, the sinuous glowing mechanical distribution tree, views framing the neighboring mountains, and the warmth of the cedar combine to evoke a complete experience for the patrons.

Email interview conducted by John Hill.

South Mountain Community Library
2011

Phoenix, AZ

Client
Maricopa County Community College District and City of Phoenix

Architect

Richärd+Bauer Architecture
Phoenix, AZ

Design Principal
Jim Richärd, AIA 

Principal Project Architect
Stephen Kennedy, AIA, NCARB

Principal Project Manager
Kelly Bauer, NCIDQ, FIIDA

Project Team
Project Architect: Andrew Timberg, RA, LEED AP
Construction Administration: Will Craig, RA
Staff Architects: Mark Loewenthal, LEED AP BD+C, Alex Therien, RA, LEED AP BD+C, Brant Long, LEED AP BD+C
FF+E Specification: Stacey Crumbaker, NCIDQ, Assoc. IIDA
Teen Area Interior Design: Claudia Saunders
FF+E Specification: Maura González, Assoc. IIDA
Graphic Design: Melissa Pulsifer, SEGD, AIGA 


Structural Engineer
Rudow+Berry, Inc.
 
MEP/FP Engineer
Energy Systems Design
 
Civil Engineer
Dibble Engineering
 
Landscape Architect
Kimley-Horn & Associates 
 
Acoustical Consultant
McKay Conant Hoover
 
Lighting Designer
Roger Smith Lighting Design
 
Library Consultant
Drew Harrington Associates 
 
Contractor
Haydon Building Corp
 
Site Area
2.91 acres

Building Area
51,600 sf

Photographs
Bill Timmerman, Timmerman Photography, Inc.

Drawings

Richärd+Bauer Architecture

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