Building drawings can be viewed here.
The idea of visiting the library as some kind of elite pastime and social marker has long been disavowed. So the dream of ingenuous Billy from "The Man from Boulevard des Capucines" about exemplary "cultural leisure" is not only realized, but has become practically the norm. SOM architects originally conceived a small building (less than 1500 m2) of one of the 80 branches of the Chicago Public Library as a club and a "place of power" for the entire area.
The glass two-story volume is located at the intersection of busy city streets and has a plan in the form of a somewhat elongated triangle with rounded corners. According to architects, it allows you to organically fit the building into the environment and contributes to its better perception from any point. The vertical ribs mounted along the entire length of the facade, with their regular rhythm, introduce noticeable dynamics and some intrigue. The hilly roof of the building, planted with local grasses, is another important element of interaction with the surrounding space: it is not visible from close range, but is clearly visible from the neighboring city rail station.
The bright and open interior is organized around a central hallway with a large staircase. All functional areas go into it, reminding, according to the architects, of the layout of a traditional Chinese residential building around an open courtyard. On the ground floor there is a children's center, an exhibition space, a small buffet and a meeting room for the local community. It is also suitable for lectures and a wide variety of social events. Moreover, with the help of acoustic curtains, it can be easily divided into small separate rooms, so that it can be used as flexibly as possible.
The second floor is dedicated to a multimedia space for teenagers and adult reading rooms. Contemporary art is represented here by a vibrant conceptual work of local artist Christopher Hungermann, created with the participation of the local community and having social, historical and even political significance. The height of the painting is almost 2.5 m and the length is more than 18 m, so that it is perfectly visible from almost all zones, becoming a real semantic center of the building.
There is no way without resource-saving technologies: the library building claims to be LEED Gold certified and uses a full range of modern eco-friendly solutions. In addition to the green roof, which reduces heat loss and at the same time protects against overheating, the architects used a system of heating and cooling by means of thermal radiation. Transparent walls easily let in daylight, which, combined with the active use of LED lighting sources, can significantly reduce energy costs. But the built-in sunshield makes it possible to reduce the heat load while maintaining the much-needed connection between the interior and exterior spaces. In general, "people live, they go to the library-e-e-ki …"
