Library aims to preserve natural landscape and history of land
Posted
06/1/2009
Located in
northwest San Antonio, the John Igo Branch Library is designed to
preserve the natural landscape and history of the land. Completed
in 2007, the 15,500-square-foot (1,440-m2) library is nestled in
the center of a 24-acre (10-hectare) park where it is almost hidden
from the main road. Parking fl ows through and around natural
clusters of trees and grasses, allowing visitors to explore the
landscape as they approach the entry.
A 40-foot- (12-m-) tall windmill greets visitors and acts as a
gathering area. The non-traditional hybrid windmill has
custom-designed blades and collects the intermittent wind source
through a wind generator to provide supplemental power to a small
water circulation pump, allowing the water to flow down a channel,
through the building and to a water basin. The turbine sits on a
base designed by well-known artist James Hetherington, which was
fabricated by Alamo Iron Works, San Antonio, and erected in one
piece.
The channel is paired with a 120-foot (37-m) window wall from
Kawneer, Norcross, Ga., that runs along the building, allowing
visitors to maintain a connection to the library even from the
outside. It also creates a linear north-south axis with the
windmill and heritage oak acting as signifiers that anchor the two
endpoints.
The library incorporates several energy-efficient features,
including high-performance 1-inch (25- mm) Solarban 80 (2) Low-E
insulated glass from Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries, large
overhangs and decorative metal solar awnings. Additionally, the
inside features carpeting, carpet backing, toilet partitions and
tackable wall surfaces that incorporate 10 to 62 percent recycled
materials.
The tower entry
acts as a control point separating the library from the community
meeting rooms. This allows for the use of the meeting rooms during
nonlibrary hours, while maintaining the sense of entry for all. The
main circulation desk divides the library into two separate
column-free spaces, each of which provide visual connections
between the windmill and heritage oak from almost any location in
the library.
Visitors are led to the live heritage oak by a pathway. An oak
canopy provides a natural exterior reading enclosure that allows
for multiple areas where patrons may read alone or gather in small
groups. The original smokehouse from the previous farm now stands
as a historical artifact and a backdrop to the preservation of land
and history.
Columbus, Miss.-based Ceco Building Systems manufactured the metal
building, while Houston based MBCI supplied the metal roof and
walls for the project. Approximately 12,000 square feet (1,115 m2)
of MBCI's Batten-Lok roof system in a Signature 300 Colonial Red
were used in addition to MBCI's 7.2 wall system on standard metal
wall girts, also in a matching Signature 300 color finish. Designed
by RVK Architects, San Antonio, the library looks like an abstract
barn to help accompany the area and its environment.
The Library received the 2008 Mayors Choice Award from the San
Antonio chapter of the AIA. F.A. Nunnelly, San Antonio, was the
general contractor.
Ceco Building Systems
Kawneer
MBCI
PPG Industries
www.cecobuildings.com; www.kawneer.com; www.mbci.com; www.ppg.com