Sun Studies

Spring/Fall

Summer

So here are videos of my sun study for the site with my shape on it. The filled in floor plate (which is not the actual design, and is just there to help indicate the shadow's movement) changes to yellow at 12 PM. Three studies are present. At 9/21 slash 3/21, 6/21, and 12/21. As you can see, the shape creates a favorable shadow pattern during the midday hours during the summer. I believe this space should be utilized as outdoor space for the library probably centered around the cafe area. I still need to look at exactly where the parvis should be placed over the highway, and where the highway should be left exposed. This investigation is forthcoming.

Winter

‘Annoying’ Noise Potential and Adaptive Shape

 

We have already identified the ‘potential’ for noise at the selected site, given that is basically an open void to a multi-lane interstate roadway.  I do not usually think that noise is a particularly insightful site force, simply because urban environments are noisy by nature (this kind of sight analysis usually leads to diagrams of the obvious).  I hope this vein of analysis can be a bit more instructive (you can let me know if it is not).

Hoping to engage (and/or mitigate) the noise ‘potential’ at the proposed site, I have tried to model the behavior of noise in and around the site: first, with existing site conditions and then with a proposed massing on top of the site.  Some computer modeling demonstrated that the main source of noise at the site comes from the several lanes of traffic below the void that I hope to span with the new library as opposed to the surface traffic along Massachusetts Ave. and Boylston St.  More specifically, it is the persistent echo and reverberation of sound emitted from the sub-surface roadway that shapes the sound environment most dramatically.  

The attached animations model a theoretical sound source, in this case an 85 dB, 1200 Hz multi-directional source representative of ‘heavy traffic’ as defined by the US Department of Energy (which is coincidentally within the range of what the DOE defines as ‘annoying’ sound levels).  A comparison of these analyses tells me two things particularly: 1) The shape of the site, once filled with direct and reflected sound, affects how that sound is attenuated over time and this shape has a tendency to hold sound like a vessel and 2) any proposed building proposed at the site will not only have to deal with dramatic noise characteristics but it also has the potential to shape how this sound is transmitted to the streetscape.  I see my proposed library as a layer of refuge within layers of environmental noise; the goal will be to shape the moments where these environments can interact.

Site Planning + Building Envelope

Hi all, I have been thinking a lot about site design and natural elements in working out the programming of my library. Because my site is waterfront and intrudes upon some of the Emerald Necklace and precious little greenspace in that area, I have been thinking of ways to mitigate its presence (and haven't gotten too far yet!). I am particularly concerned about excessive glazing, as I plan on using a lot of glass to make my building transparent and to capitalize on the views. But this becomes problematic after analyzing various sun studies and realizing that its getting very direct light for most of the day and year. I found an interesting article about how LEED points don't pay enough attention to building siting, focusing more on materials and products: http://archrecord.construction.com/yb/ar/article.aspx?story_id=157273774 This is something I have believed for some time, after working in a building that is Silver Certified but completely isolated, off the grid, and poorly climate-controlled. I personally think LEED is a hollow gesture, better for encouragement than actually making things more sustainable, and I'm trying to reconcile that with my current site design. Also, check out Architectural Record's ongoing library precedent articles!

Hi All,

I researched some precedents that had similar conditions as my building (building up on top of the existing structure). My structural diagrams are very schematic (beam sizes, column thickness, etc...) but they show the idea of how I would be able to build on top of the parking garage.
Facade studies describe different ways of addressing the street and attracting the passers-by into the library.


For Wednesday, I will have a programmatic model, schematic plans and perhaps a diagrammatic section of the building.

-MM

structure.footprint.section.diagram.

over the past week i have figured out the footprint of my library and whats going where. there will be two parts to the library; stacks/reading rooms/admin/computers at a dropped elevation and louder public areas that are more for quick browsing at ground level.
structurally it is very simple, there will be a grid system and trusses that span the entire space so it can remain open. the interior spaces will be divided/differentiated by furniture and ceiling treatments.

program bubble diagram with building footprint.

plans and entries.

structre diagram- yellow circles indicate columns.



section. its very diagrammatic.

lastly, i am working on a site plan so i can make a proper nolli map. its a work in progress and is closer to finished now.

Where I stand.

I spent the past week looking at interior spatial organization, as well as a level deeper into the structure. Ultimately these two will be intimately connected. I think its easiest to assume the loads need to be transmitted through three points located at each corner of the base. For this reason, the corners of my shape will have to be more structurally robust. The "infill" structure can be used to define space, or as structure for floor plates. I've include two examples below. As far as the interior space is concerned, the size of the shape is good. If I place floors at a similar interval to Gehry's building the interior would be 30,000 sq. ft. This allows for the removal of 10,000 sq. ft. of floor space presenting the opportunity for multiple volume spaces. The images below present a few option for breaking up the interior with multiple volumes and circulation. I think the next step is pairing down my program and figuring out adjacencies so I can figure out the sequence of spaces.

Work Update - Program

This post includes a few program diagrams which I am using to make sense of the proposed program distribution.  In addition to the structural concepts explored in my previous post, I am hoping this weekend to expand on these ideas with more decisive plans and sections (working on that now).  The main idea I want to express through my program diagrams is that of a serial experience, in other words, the affect of "passing through" different distinctive program elements.   I will post more this weekend as I finish up my plans and site sections.

Where I'm at? See below photos...

Where am I headed?
I need to continue working on form as it relates to my concept. As it is now, the form is a little harsh and too literal. The good news is, the process of going through this week's assignment has led to some clarity which I hope I can express in the next week or so. I would like to focus on how the form can create the experience for the user that I intend. Circulation and interior spaces are critical. Talking with a friend led me to realize that my current form as it expresses my concept is sort of upside down. In other words, if credibility is the main concept, each fragment of digital information is a subsidiary. As the building makes its way from foundation to roof much like the fragments of information combining and making their way to the surface as a whole, the building should read more as a collaboration than as fragmented parts. In the plans, you could see how if the floors were reversed, it may reflect this idea better. That is not to say by just flipping them, I will achieve what I'm looking for. As I mentioned, it is still too literal of a translation at this point.

Evan's Work

Latest Design Iteration and Structural Concepts

Sorry, this is going to be a little long...but just to reiterate, my concept is to create a satellite to the BPL - an annex that breaks with the rigid formality and protectionist ideals of the traditional library. This is a response to a tendancy for people to prefer more relaxed work environments that are centered around social environments, such as cafes and book stores.

I think the traditional library excludes a large percent of the population, who wish to work and access its resources, because it creates an environment unsuitable to their habits.

My satellite, would offer, several different workspaces that vary in "loudness" which could be used for individual work, club meetings, business meetings, job interviews, etc, etc, etc. It would also offer a cafe, a small lecture space, auditorium, computer area, free wi-fi throughout, loaner laptop computers, limited magazine, newspaper, and book stacks that are set up on a 'browsing' basis, not a rigid system. Being part of the BPL, however, it would also give access to the main collection. Requests can be put in at a circulation desk, and every hour or so, a truck would bring requested material back and forth from the big library.



This is an the massing that I was initially drawn to from our first massing study. I liked how it worked with the site, being on a corner, and how it had somewhat of a porosity...which could open opportunities for it to express a welcoming feel. It began to disolve a fabric of continuous, stuck together, buildings.



It had some issues though...it was comprised of separate, very vertical structures, that would not lend themselves to practical circulation. Also, they were still somewhat rigid and sterile...something I was trying to get away from with this new library.




Above is a program study that I did to study ways that the programmatic elements could arrange themselves...I plan to do more of these as I progress, however, I think I have a basic understanding of how they will organize.

In my next (and latest) iteration (see below) I tried to literally combine the forms produced by the program study, with my initail massing concept. The idea is to use the organic and highly functional program organization to hover/hang "freely" within the rigid, vertical masses, and begin to contrast and breakdown their formal character.



I also rotated the western two vertical masses so that they connect fully with the neighboring building, and create an 'opening' along the facade along Newbury, for a main entrance. The main program spaces hover within the vertical masses and the vertical masses primarily become circulation and support space (bathrooms, storage, mechanical).

I welcome feedback as to the direction things are going. In my next steps, I will continue to refine my concept and manipulate both my program and form to bring it through another iteration.

Structural Concepts



Essentially, thus far, my building consists of vertical, tower-like elements, with horizontal masses that hang, bridge, and hover between them. The intent for the vertical massing, is that internally, they can be vertically open and not require regular and stacked floor plates. I think the diagrid structural system will be most suitable for that. I believe (someone please clarify) that the diagrid system will essentially turn the entire mass into a big shearwall, carry most of the load through the exterior structure, and require a minimum of internal, horizontal bracing. This can be seen in the top sketch above.

The second sketch is an alternative, more traditional structural system, using a steel grid and floor plates. This system, I believe, will limit how open my structures can be on the inside. The advantage to this however, is that it will be more suited to carrying the loads of the horizontal structures/spaces. If I use the diagrid system, described above, the horizonatal structures/spaces will have to be more self-supporting.

The third sketch shows a simplified diagram of how the horizontal structures will "hover" within the vertical massing. I think the structural system of these elements will be a more traditional steel grid with floor plates, due to their horizontal nature and because they are mostly only one storey in height.

Thats where I am....I hope to get some good feedback.

annex/satellite libraries

i found this little article about the chicago satellite library that is really tiny and really successful.

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/green-your-library/245-square-foot-library-success-story

More Library Case Studies

I'm sure most of you will be seeing this link shortly, but here are some more modern library precedents, many of which we haven't studied as a class: http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/building_types_study/TypeIndex.aspx?bts=LBS. Enjoy!

Concept: Structure and Deformation

Based on a decision to span the subsurface roadway, the proposed structure will have to be lightweight and high-strength.  As a design goal, I want to avoid simply spanning the gap with a slab-on-truss structure.  Since the building will be seen from below, I want to employ a structural system which allows the bottom façade to relate to the other elevations.  As I mentioned in studio, I am proceeding with the courtyard form since it allows (besides program considerations) a concentration of structure around the site perimeter which (I hope) would allow me to combine structure and form into a coherent façade.

To address these requirements, I have been researching a hybrid of lightweight, post-tensioned concrete shell construction and typical high-strength concrete slab construction.  Capable of spanning large spans, a concrete slab of varied thickness is formed to create shallow arches (which will be evident in the interior program).  This undulating structural shell would touch down at foundations anchored to existing structural framework and some new shear walls or columns along the perimeter.

I have been exploring this form and concept in a series of digital models subjected to stress and deformation analysis.  The attached animation shows clearly the main areas of instability in the structural slab (high-strength H50/60 concrete) based on my preliminary design.  The model was subjected to gravity loads as well as typical live/dead loads (150 psf LL for libraries).  The animation exaggerates the combined loads to 210x allowable deformation (way beyond failure).  Since I can’t provide a structural engineering solution to these areas of instability, the analysis tells me where to focus on trimming back variables (perhaps reduce the live load, make the floor plan narrow to trim back the slab, or adjust the areas of slab lifting). 

[Click to animate] : Deformation of preliminary concrete shell design.

The second component of the proposed structural system is the wall/roof assembly.  I am still exploring options for this component but have narrowed it down to two types: a structural façade or a post and beam system.  Both options would be fixed to the structural slab.  The structural façade has the advantages of allowing a column-free interior and a rigidity that could reinforce the floor slab.  Since the building will be one-story, the post and beam strategy could be a light-weight alternative to reduce floor loads.  I will continue to work on some diagrams which illustrate these options.

MBTA and the library

i was at the BPL recently and took some photos of the Copley T-Stop for those of you using the Parcel 13 site. its a little inspiration for your projects as you think of how to incorporate the existing/closed T-Stop into your designs.

Collage Review

Thank all of you for your comments last studio.  You gave me some great ideas (“great” as in, “Great, that’s just more to think about!”).  But seriously, I appreciate the feedback and am excited by everyone’s projects.  Since Evangelos mentioned that we should post our work each week, I thought I would post my collages.  I hope to build on these main concepts, but since we are focusing this week on structure, I will have to let these ideas percolate.  I would like to use this as a chance to record a few concepts that inform my atmospheric collages: 

Search & Display:  The future of information holds new ways on not only collecting data, but displaying it as well.  A future library will need space to display data, real time, as it is collected and produced.  Imagine downloading a group of statistics on a research subject; the future library could not only display that information, but allow you to manipulate it, sort it, and/or edit it without a keyboard, mouse, or touchscreen.  This will require a new kind type of library space.

Interactive “Floor-Light”: This feature is site-specific, considering the building’s proposed situation over a major sub-surface roadway.  The inverse of the “skylight”, the floor-light opens a window to an urban reality, while gathering the trace light and reflections (and noises) of an urban element which typically belongs “outside” of the building.  In addition, this glazed surface can be augmented with an interactive display which shows useful data (route-finding, entertainment, query services). 

Street Book Wall:  The street-oriented book wall is a strategy which speaks to a need to increase access to public information.  By turning the library inside-out, the print collection is literally made public, a gesture which makes this new library a progressive alternative to tradition (consider the opaque and introverted condition of the Boston Public Library).  Transporting “book sushi,” the book wall moves its cargo at the pace of the pedestrian, bringing the book back to the street.

Self-Organizing Corral:  With new RFID technology and personal mobile devices, the need for antiquated cataloging and sorting systems is being replaced with decentralized, efficient book tracking methods.  The self-organizing corrals are organisms with the program which collect people and books who, theoretically, sort themselves over time.  In others words, when technology allows the book to live anywhere, the users themselves will organize the collection.  The corrals, based on the types of books they have collected, will reveal how our culture intuitively sorts media.

Open Screening Room:  The library must remain a social node in the community, and as our tastes for information delivery evolve, so does our need to share in its consumption.  The screening room represents public information on a large scale and , as it turns out, is a traditional role of the library.  Along with the screening room (which is itself a borderless area within the library), other diverse program elements can be included, e.g.: a bowling lane, a bike path, a moving sidewalk, or a basketball court.  (Thanks to you studio geniuses for those great ideas!)

solar exposure studies

i did new solar exposure studies with the time/dates that EK suggested, and found that the exposure is better then i thought. these studies effect the street level public space and will not have an impact on the upper level rooftop deck where i have imagined the seasonal public market to be.
p.s. i did not mean for them to look like loteria cards, but i sort of love that they do!

Potential Form

Here it is. My first movie. I think I might do a romcom next.

Video and Copyright

In the interest of designing a digital library to try to resolve the conflict between multimedia and credible information, I couldn't help but get hung up on the fact that the Cambridge library circulates DVDs of new releases, etc much like a Blockbuster store. I realize it's a "browsing" library but I couldn't get passed the idea of a library as a video rental store. Anyway, in milling around looking for info regarding DVDs and libraries, I found some guidelines on the ALA site. It's really not very exciting but the issues with use and copyrights is kind of interesting...

http://www.ala.org/ala/professionalresources/libfactsheets/alalibraryfactsheet07.cfm

15 Dazzling Library Designs

I also found this recently: http://weburbanist.com/2008/12/10/clever-creative-modern-library-architecture-designs/.

Good inspiration for cool library designs, including many of our precedents and the JFK Presidential library at Columbia Point here in Boston.

Library Types

Hi Everyone,

After our tour yesterday I have been thinking more about what type of library I want to create. Although I think mine will inevitably be a hybrid of different kinds (such as a medical and scientific library with some interactive elements, like a museum, thrown in), it was interesting to do some research on more "official" types of libraries. Like most of you, I have heard of different types but never given it much thought, especially in the public realm- research vs. browsing, etc.

So I looked around and found one of the most comprehensive lists on Wikipedia (sorry, but useful): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Types_of_libraries. The list is pretty exhaustive and the bibliographic links are very helpful. I also found the ALA, American Library Association, which I'm sure some of you are aware of but I am just finding. I recommend checking out their entire site; I'm sure it can be useful for all of us, no matter what direction we're going in, but they, too, have a list of different types: http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcareers/careers/librarycareerssite/typesoflibraries.cfm.
Note that its in reference to library careers, which (predictably) are facing major cutbacks in this digital age. Hope that's helpful!