Best Overall Design: Northlake-Barbara Loar Library, Tucker, Ga.
by Jonathan McGaha | June 30, 2010 12:00 am
Product Details
• 2,800 square feet (260 m2) of 0.16-inch- (4-mm-) thick aluminum composite panels in Red from Alpolic Materials, Chesapeake, Va., in addition to Alpolic’s 0.16-inch-thick ACM interior column covers; 22-gauge, 2-inch (51-mm) insulated metal wall panels from Kingspan Benchmark, Columbus, Ohio; and 24-guage, 16-inch (406-mm) Medallion-Lok double pencil rib wall and roof panels from McElroy Metal, Bossier City, La.
Project Fine Points
• This project is a 5,000-square-foot (465-m2) addition to an existing 10,000-square-foot (929-m2) neighborhood library. The existing library space was completely renovated to create a cohesive 15,000 square-foot library. Functions were reorganized to provide larger reading and stack areas, a larger children’s library area, a new teen area and additional administration space.
• The building addition reflects the ship metaphor of the original, post-modern design by extending a prow towards the parking lot that directs pedestrians to the entrance and creates an interior children’s library space in the hull of a ship.
• The visual concept reinterprets the ship metaphor of the original design, albeit in a more literal way. What was once a small yellow prow became a ship’s hull, complete with porthole windows. The compound curvature of the hull, created with brightly colored aluminum composite panels, wraps towards and envelops the front door of the library.
Why Metal?
• ACM panels were selected for their ability to conform to the complex geometry of the ship’s hull. The material’s superior durability, panel flatness, uniformity and range of color choices added to its value. In fact, metal products were used throughout the facade of the addition to create a durable envelope.
Northlake-Barbara Loar Library, Tucker, Ga.
Completed: March 2009
Total square footage: 15,000 square feet
Building owner: DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, Ga.
Architect: Richard Wittschiebe Hand, Atlanta, www.rwhdesign.com
General contractor: Hogan Construction Group, Norcross, Ga.
Fabricator: Altech Panel Systems, Cartersville, Ga.
Installer: Carros Metal Concepts, Winston, Ga.
Metal roof and wall panels: Alpolic Materials, Chesapeake, Va., www.alpolic-usa.com; Kingspan Benchmark, Columbus, Ohio, www.kingspanpanels.us; McElroy Metal, Bossier City, La., www.mcelroymetal.com
Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/projects/best-overall-design-northlake-barbara-loar-library-tucker-ga/