Library Of The Present: Communal Information In Physical Space

Sou Fujimoto, Musashino Art University Museum & Library, Tokyo, 2010

"The Internet is now the library of the past. Where the public library has historically served as the primary source of information gathering and dissemination, we now look to this new virtual, infinitely large library that can be accessed anywhere at any time as the Library of the present.

As a result, the primary roles of today’s physical libraries have shifted. Libraries of the past focused primarily on individualized information consumption. Communal aspects of interaction and information dissemination now represent the core mission of the library when information is more easily accessible. The silent grand beaux-arts reading rooms of New York or Boston have of the past been transformed into flexible communal “living rooms” in Seattle.

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Full article at: archdaily

In-progress Renderings

I still have a lot of work to do but here are some renderings of my work in progress.  The lower image shows the view from below the building; I tried to articulate the under-surface of the concrete slab for structural and environmental factors.  I am also working on a screen pattern for the glazing which varies in opacity based on solar aspect (you can see a bit of it in the glazing in these renderings).  In addition to these, I am planning to show a close-up facade detail and some interior scenes.

I've been working on modeling my building. It actually helped with the articulation of some of the internal and external spaces and allowed me to do some renders. Here's one...

This Weeks Progress

Here are a couple of options for the facade geometry. One is governed by triangular geometry dependent on floor levels on the interior. The second is more free form and relies on circular elements to penetrate the interior. In both cases, the size of the aperture relates to the scale of interaction on the adjacent interior.

I also worked on the lighting plan. Multi-volume spaces are treated with pendent lighting to provide light and scale to the space. Geometric panel lighting is placed in the base of each floor plate module.

progress work

a look at my work over the last week. they are all works in progress.

site map w/ building footprint:
sections:
plans:

interior render:

would love to hear your thoughts!

Curtain Wall Update

I have been focusing this week on making my curtain wall more "playful" and a better reflection of my concept. I've removed horizontal members and solid walls and have focused on the vertical. Vertical members are closer together and further apart as dictated by the use of interior program spaces. Some members span multiple floors and some are single height. Thoughts?

Stumbled upon this while browsing. It's shares some of the elements that some of us are proposing in our projects.

http://www.american-architects.com/projects/projects_detail/29323

Glazing + Structure

Hi guys,

Just a quick note- I know many of us yesterday were talking about trusses and structure while dealing with curtain walls or glazing. I found a semi-relevant precedent on my way home- the Boston U. Agganis Arena. If you look at the windows facing Comm. Ave. (approaching from Kenmore Square, so before you get to the main entrance) you can clearly see all of the structural systems in the first floor behind their large windows. This is only semi-relevant because they aren't using a curtain wall in this particular example, but it may be a good inspiration point or example of how to celebrate or make a moment out of necessary structural members. I honestly don't think they did a good job of highlighting it or making it a larger piece of the composition, but its a good start for understanding how this might look and ways in which you could make it bolder or less obvious. I attached some images of the building below, both the front entrance (left, below) and the actual windows I'm talking about (right) along Comm. Ave.

working in section

after our reviews last week i came home and worked on making my design more dynamic in section as was recommended. a friend and i went to a craft store looking for new/different/non architectural materials to work with and find inspiration from. this was very helpful for me, as i began to think more of the ceiling treatments and how they could effect the spaces they help to create. i sketched a bunch in my sketch book and worked on physical models as well as in sketchup. i find that working in both physical modeling and in sketchup helpful because physical modeling can take longer then necessary because i tend to get caught up in the details. this week i think the sketchup massing models helped me to understand the stairs and dimensions as well as letting me see the ceiling treatment idea i have had from the outdoor space. below are some snapshots of the sketchup model i worked on.above is a view of the southern entry on myrtle st, looking at the ceiling treatment and the roof deck. this view is an attempt at trying to bring my collages to life and representing the ideas i had then in my design. i think in this view it is clear how important the transition from the exterior space to the interior space is going to be. this collage is what was inspiring me:
above is an east/west section through the larger mass of the design.


above are north/south sections showing how i am working with the transparent void as a beacon for the community. it is an important element for the entry and as visual importance in the community. this is a very rough sketch and has since taken several forms and heights. it has yet to be resolved.

thanks for reading, any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Weekly Inspiration

I found this image of a bridge-like design and complex that's very similar to my site and current ideas for development- high rises on one side, an aquatic depression, and a bridging structure to traverse it. I'm hoping this will keep me inspired for next week's iterations!

Floor Plans

Here are my floor plans for this week where I have worked out the first iteration of program organization and building layout.

The general concept is that this is a "working" library, less for access to materials, and more for areas to work, meet, and collaborate. Limited material will be available for "browsing" and will be organized by topic (similar to a bookstore) than by traditional library systems, such as the Dewey Decimal system. The work areas get quieter as you ascend upward. The upper-most floor is a mezzanine level for library staff offices.

Circulation areas and "movement" areas will contain loose book stacks that people will be forced to walk passed and "browse" as they move to their desired location within the building.

I have axons and sections of the building, but can't post them yet because I need to scan them...I will get them up here ASAP.

On networks and circulation patterns

Paul Baran, On Distributed Communications Networks, RAND Corporation, 1962

This post is a small continuation of the presentation on networks and circulation. By identifying the different types of networks one can imagine new ways of organizational principles in architecture. That can be applied either as an organizational diagram of program or as an internal/external circulation system. Each of the different network systems, as presented by Baran, have got both advantages and disadvantages for communications regarding effectiveness and alternative routes. Borrowing elements of these concepts from fields outside of architecture can spark ideas on how one can be more inventive with the way the users of a building can move around on their way to a certain part of it, how long that might take, how many options they might have to reach the same point from alternative routes and so on.
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Paul Baran (1926–2011) was a Polish American engineer who was a pioneer in the development of computer networks. He worked for the computer science department in the mathematics division of the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research and development organization funded mostly by government grants. At that time the RAND Corporation focused mostly on Cold War-related military problems. Baran thought he could design a more robust communications networks using digital computers and by introducing redundancy.


At that time there were two basic models for building communication networks: centralized and decentralized. In a centralized network all nodes are connected directly and only to a centralized hub or switch. All data is sent from an individual node to the center and then routed to its destination. If the center is destroyed or not functioning all communication is effectively cut off. If the route between a node and the center is destroyed or not functioning, that node is effectively cut off. A decentralized network uses several centralized hubs. It is almost like several small centralized networks joined together. Each individual node is still dependent upon the proper functioning of its hub and the route to it.


Baran suggested a third alternative—a distributed network—"a communication network which will allow several hundred major communications stations to talk with one another after an enemy attack. " (Baran, Rand Memorandum 3420-PR, CH.1) A distributed network would have no centralized switch. Each node would be connected to several of its neighboring nodes in a sort of lattice-like configuration. Therefore, each node would have several possible routes to send data. If one route or neighboring node was destroyed, another path would be available.


Excerpts via: ibiblio

I think I've found a solution to my woes. I compressed the program and building into the "tower" that is attached to the existing building thats immediately adjacent to the site. The other "towers" become depressions which are outdoor public areas. The building is accessed by descending a short stair into the depression immediately next to the building...you can see it in the images.

The volumes portruding from the main volume are the work areas that get quieter as you rise. A cafe, and "superloud" work area is at the entrance level. The first portruding volume is a public lecture space/auditorium.

Let me know what you think.

Slab Design (Continued) and Circulation

In the process of working on my plans and circulation, I have been studying the floor surface curvature and its walkability (for lack of a better term).  The diagrams posted are not diagrams of success!  The form of the floor slab as I have been modeling it in previous iterations is largely inaccessible.  The red areas in the lower diagram indicate areas with a slope (or cross-slope) of greater than 1:12, which is of course the steepest incline allowed for ramps.  My goal is to get a large percentage of the floor plan less than or equal to 1:20 (green areas).  This will mean shallower arches than I have modeled so far and perhaps this move will prevent the plan to design building entrances below the arches.  At this point, I am “flattening” out the building a bit to provide for more useable space and more gradual transitions between program elevation changes.  This exercise has really highlighted the interdependencies between form, structure, program, and circulation.

library scavenger hunt?

best scavenger hunt EVER.

Pleating

Original

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Option 4

Option 5

So here are five options for pleating the rear facade of my shape. I've experimented with a variety of singular pleats with varying orientation, and multiple pleats at regular intervals. I prefer the third video, or pleat option 2. It is a singular pleat that trends toward the northwest corner of the building. During the summer, this option allows direct sunlight to the 5 upper stories of the Gehry Building. This might not be an ideal situation from a space conditioning standpoint, but this side of the building gets blasted with sun during the summer. So I guess the building in a way improves this condition. Personally, the most appealing part of this option is the light incident to the pleat faces throughout the day. With this form there is an opportunity for reflected light through most of the day. In fact, with the right material for reflection. The light from this surface could actual be more desirable than the light conditions in the Gehry building presently.

Let me know your thoughts.

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