Elegant Library

Normally, you don’t get this kind of elegance in a library; [it] would get value-engineered out. This entire gesture falls on this crinkling of metal. [It’s] almost like it was crushed up in your hand, then pulled out, then stretched out and wrapped around the fascia. It becomes the identity of the building. This project is all about this singular gesture.”

A FOLDED PAPER AIRPLANE

The building component that Calisti refers to is what Brad McKenzie, office director and senior project manager at Sapp Design Architects, Kansas City, Mo., calls “a tall screening element incorporated as a functional feature for shading, providing increased visibility, and an expression of the overall design theme of a folded paper airplane.” McKenzie says this was done to increase visibility of the branch by adding some height to the building, increasing natural daylighting—an important aspect of modern library design—and taking advantage of the library’s prominent south face.

As part of a 35-branch capital improvement project, the Colbern Road branch replaced an existing outdated and undersized branch of the MCPL district. “One overall design goal was to modernize all the libraries’ aesthetic, and incorporating architectural metals was one way to accomplish this,” McKenzie says. “The idea of transferring knowledge at a basic level led us to think about passing notes as children, the idea of folding paper, and ultimately the paper airplane. The airplane theme resonated with the owner and played well with the planned programs for the new library center. The design of the library includes a hint to the folded paper with the large screen wall façade that greets patrons as they make their way into the modern and spacious atrium.”

McKenzie explains they selected various metal products for economy, ease of maintenance, longevity and the enhanced modern aesthetic the products provide. For this unique screening element, ACM Series 100 metal wall panels and custom perforated aluminum sheeting from ALPOLIC Materials–Mitsubishi Chemical America, Chesapeake, Va., were used. The perforated panels are 1/4-inch plate aluminum with a variation of custom perforation patterns and four different folded patterns to create the folded paper airplane design theme.

“We discussed how we might bring the paper airplane theme to the exterior of the building and agreed that just taking the same airplane element from inside to out would be too literal,” McKenzie says. “As we were exploring options for abstract airplane shapes in the ACM panel joints, or on the concrete plaza, we decided to explore the idea of incorporating the shape into the screenwall. At first, we tried to utilize more familiar fins in patterns that might emulate the airplane shape, but ultimately started exploring the idea of actual folded sheets of metal. We wanted to keep the folds subtle enough to indicate the paper airplane idea without taking it too far and felt like showing multiple stages of fold would add some dynamic to the screen wall. The final design was a result of standard material sheet sizes, geometry and groupings of panels rotated 180 degrees.”

The ACM is also used around the library’s entrance and its café to create a clean, modern look. “The darker portal identifies the main library entrance, and the white portal highlights the café,” McKenzie says. “Both portals have [Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, Quebec, Canada-based] Mac Metal Architectural’s Harrywood wood grain metal panel in the inside surface. Both portals extend from the exterior into the interior space of the library.”

Two sides of the building are clad with a blend of three Nashville, Tenn.-based Elevate (formerly Firestone Building Products), Delta panel profiles in Silver Metallic producing a varied rib pattern. Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings, Minneapolis, supplied coatings for the metal panels.

The design team worked with a local custom metal shop and metal installer, Kansas City, Mo.-based Standard Sheet Metal, to develop the screening element utilizing standard plate aluminum sizes, available perforation options and a minimum number of different panel shapes. The general contractor was JE Dunn Construction, Kansas City. Helix Architecture and Design Inc., Kansas City, was also an architect for the project and did much of the interior design. Olsson Inc., Lincoln, Neb., provided civil and structural engineering services.

CIVIC GESTURE

Awards judge Mark Roddy, FAIA, principal, Mark Roddy Architects, Sacramento, Calif., thought the library was a civic gesture that does multiple things. “There’s something interesting about it … it allows for a solid, formal expression.”

Awards judge Rand Elliott, FAIA, principal at Rand Elliott Architects, Oklahoma City, says he can’t help but not think about books on a shelf when he looks at this library’s exterior. “It gives a connection to what the building does on the inside. It gives it value and elevates the fact that it’s a library to a higher level. What a great thing for the community, students or adults or anyone who goes into this library [to show that] it’s a very inspiring place. [And,] not just because of the content but also because of the wrapper that contains all of this knowledge. It seems like a beautiful gesture.”

McKenzie says the library has been very busy since the day it was opened and the feedback from the community has been fantastic. “They love the new building, the amenities, coffee shop and the small business assistance offered. We have taken several potential clients to tour the facility and the MCPL has even given tours to other library staff from around the region.”