Kitchener Central Library in Canada by LGA Architectural Partners

Article source: LGA Architectural Partners 

Kitchener is one of Canada’s fastest-growing communities, catalyzed by its universities and high-tech industry. Built in 1962, the city’s Main Branch Public Library was not only showing the effects of everyday wear and tear, it had reached an age which its major systems and components needed replacement. The library was designed at a time when energy costs were low and awareness of greenhouse gas emissions did not exist. The librarians tasked LGA Architectural Partners to preserve and expand the original structure while making it sustainable, accessible and elegantly robust—a must for a building that serves 107,000 cardholders. They also asked that the building’s design support the transforming library mandate from “reading and researching” to “meeting, making and active learning”.

The colours of the LED lights can be adjusted to reect seasonal events and holiday, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

• Architects: LGA Architectural Partners
• Project: Kitchener Central Library
• Location: 85 Queen Street North, Kitchener, Canada
• Photography: Ben Rahn / A-Frame
  
• Architectural Project Team: David Warne, Janna Levitt, Phillip Carter, Christie Pearson, Cynthia Dovell, José Castel_Branco, Leo Lin, Sharon Leung, Kris Payne, Amanda Reed
• Heritage Consultant: Philip Carter
• Civil, Structural, Mechanical and Electrical: Walter Fedy
• Budget: $40 million
• Size:
  
  • Library – 112,000 square feet (10,280 square metres)
  • Parking Garage – 165,000 square feet (15,320 square metres)
• Completion: May 2014

LGA enclosed the original façade in a glass curtain wall, improving the library’s energy efciency, aesthetics, economy, intelligence and neighbourliness, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

Like a ship in a bottle, the architects’ big move was to wrap the original mid-century modern library with a high-ef_ciency curtain wall with operable windows, thereby preserving the building’s iconic image while dramatically upgrading its performance, targeting LEED Gold certi_cation. The glass opens the interior to natural sunlight and air, and converts the main reading room into a “front porch” that invites community and engagement with the street. At night, the glass wall all but disappears, allowing passers-by to appreciate the concrete, chevron-shaped arches of the original design and inviting views of the activity within. But the façade also celebrates the library’s contemporary image: charged with _uctuating, colourful LED lights, it whimsically references the library’s foundational imagery—books on a shelf.

At night, uctuating LED lights celebrate the library’s contemporary image while whimsically referencing its foundation, books on a shelf, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

The new face preserves the old structure and maintains its iconic image, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

Adding to both the rear and a second storey, the architects expanded the facility, creating space for a wide variety of open and closed rooms for group and solitary learning. Labs with glass walls expose the making of things, including a digital lab with a 3D printer, an electronic die cutter and make-your-own music stations. They added a wide variety of seating options including couches, tables, laptop bars and in-shelf nooks, re_ecting the myriad of ways in which people inhabit and engage within a contemporary context. Wi-Fi, computers and power outlets are discrete but plentiful, while books—still a key resource—are prominently displayed on shelves with integrated display elements to invite interest. A landscaped courtyard, backed by the adjacent historic jail wall, invites users to enjoy outdoor programing.

The “reading courtyard” extends the facility to the outdoors for informal and organized outdoor programs, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

A warm study nook in the new addition overlooks the “reading courtyard”, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

Throughout, the design team used elegant but durable materials such as stone, walnut, concrete and glass—matching the previous palette while giving the library a fresh face.

The main reading room with original wall mural by Jack Bechtel. During construction the mural was carefully wrapped and preserved, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

Inspired by the simplicity of paper and its changing signicance within the library, Moss & Lam’s Flux mobile animates the reception lobby, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

At various stages, art works enhance the interior, and give additional focus to the purpose of the building, including a mobile of 20,000 falling book leaves animating the entrance lobby, a carefully preserved original mural in the reading room, and an imaginative forest mural in the children’s area that offers privacy for the kids, but with care for safety, also incorporates peek-holes for a parent’s watchful eye.

Visual connections between various interior spaces entice visitors to explore the diverse areas within the library, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

Expanded by 40 percent, the library now offers an array of areas for study and collaboration including this second oor reading room overlooking the adjacent park, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

Reopened in May 2014 on the $40-million budget, and rebranded as the Central Library, the solution is modern, elegant and rich with history. It is now Kitchener’s great “living room”, an authentic, comfortable and _exible place ready to offer enriching experiences and a con_dent statement of both heritage and contemporary architecture for a region that is operating on the forefront of the digital age.

According to CEO Sonia Lewis, “A great library should be a showpiece, and this project has exceeded my expectation of that in every way.”

Second oor stacks, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

To ease the transitions between the old and new buildings, the design team pulled the new architecture away at connections between the new and the old architecture, and selected materials that were sympathetic to the original palette, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

LGA Architectural Partners is an award-winning architecture _rm with a diversi_ed portfolio. We have been providing architectural services since 1989 and have a current team of 29 architects, including _ve partners and seven associates, and an of_ce manager. Our comprehensive consulting work in public and institutional sectors has proven our ability to _nd consensus while designing excellent buildings.

Elegant and durable materials such as stone, walnut, concrete and glass compliment and uplift the original interiors with a warm modernist aestheic, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

Sunlight lters through the windows, enlivening the interiors. The natural material palette enhances the connection to the outdoors, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

Our designs celebrate the many ways to live and work. The challenges unique to each project are an opportunity to innovate, to be inspired and to demonstrate how good design improves people’s lives. We have extensive experience in talking to diverse client groups about their needs and a history of making architecture a rewarding and ful_lling experience.

The children’s area with an imaginative forest mural by Melissa Levin, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

Bookcases in the children’s area with built in reading nooks, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

We never lose sight of the context. We know that buildings are part of a bigger picture — socially, environmentally and culturally — and aim to make each design progressive, sensitive and relevant. We use energy- and cost-ef_cient materials in inventive ways for results that are both design oriented and sustainable. Regardless of the size or type of project, our approach is always technically, aesthetically and economically well informed.

A variety of exible seating options suit the different ways people inhabit and engage in the library, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

New windows were added to an existing wall, creating a bright, naturally lit reading area, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

Collaboration is fundamental to our process. We feel it is essential to generate ideas and work through problems together — in our studio, with our engineers, contractors and, most importantly, with our clients. It is a priority for us to establish and maintain good communication with everyone involved. Accountability, maintaining budgets and attention to detail are ensured by the continuous hands-on involvement of the partners for the duration of any project.

The new glass addition offers framed views of the adjacent historic jail wall, Image Courtesy © Ben Rahn / A-Frame

Ground Floor Plan, Image Courtesy © LGA Architectural Partners

Tags: Canada, Kitchener

Category: Library

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