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Sanjay Gangal
Sanjay Gangal is the President of IBSystems, the parent company of AECCafe.com, MCADCafe, EDACafe.Com, GISCafe.Com, and ShareCG.Com. Chicago Public Library, Chinatown Branch in Illinois by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLPApril 20th, 2016 by Sanjay Gangal
Article source: The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Alancing aesthetics, pragmatic programming, and sustainable design, the 16,000-square-foot Chinatown Branch Library serves as an educational and social hub for Chicago’s historic Chinatown neighborhood. As one of the Chicago Public Library system’s busiest branches, the new library focuses on inclusive community activities and technology-based learning while uniting the two distinct North and South Chinatown districts. The interwoven design elements have created a library that serves as a community anchor and an enduring cultural asset that slips easily into the city’s urban fabric.  Image Courtesy © Hedrich Blessing
 Image Courtesy © Hedrich Blessing Situated at the intersection of South Archer and South Wentworth avenues – where historic South Chinatown meets burgeoning North Chinatown – the pebble-shaped, three-sided building adheres to ancient feng shui ideals as it matches the alignment of the avenues without creating any aggressive corners. Having eschewed the standard rectangular library prototype to maximize the angular and prominent site, the form allows for fluid movement of pedestrians, landscaping throughout the site, and views of the buildings from all sides. The building’s glass façade allows passersby to view the activity inside, while library patrons can look out onto their neighborhood.  Image Courtesy © Hedrich Blessing Inside, the two-story design is based on traditional Chinese courtyard plans. Working closely with library officials to identify opportunities for programming overlap, the team connected all spaces to an airy central atrium that helps fill the entire building with natural light. In addition to increasing the building’s long-term utility, the connection provides clear orientation while minimizing the building’s total area. Community meeting areas and the children’s area occupy the ground floor and dedicated teen and adult spaces are located on the second floor. Few enclosed spaces, furnishings, storage all provide maximum flexibility and accommodate numerous uses and arrangements.  Image Courtesy © Hedrich Blessing On track to receive LEED Gold certification, the library boasts a number of sustainable features. A solar shading screen integrated into the buildings glass curtain wall reduces heat gain and a high degree of façade light transmission fills the space with soft daylight, reducing artificial lighting loads provided by low-energy LED fixtures. Visible from the nearby elevated train station, a shaped green roof featuring native grasses caps the library.  Image Courtesy © Hedrich Blessing Running throughout the second floor of the library is an 8-foot-high and 60-foot-long mixed media mural by CJ Hungerman titled Universal Transverse Immigration Proclamation. Created through Chicago’s Percent for Art Program, the mural captures Chinatown’s personality in a large-scale piece that was developed in concert with many members of the neighborhood. With community input, the mural abstractly represents the past, present, and future of Chinatown.  Image Courtesy © Hedrich Blessing  Image Courtesy © Hedrich Blessing
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