Columbus metropolitan library interiors8/26/2023 ![]() Suggestions included controllable LED lighting, glass enclosures, solid acoustics, color scheme, texture, fireplaces, water features, green (living) walls, aquariums, and moving bubble art.Īfter breaking out to address real-world design challenges from attending libraries looking to build or renovate (see p. ![]() Taking the goal of getting away to the next level, Richard Kong, director of the Skokie Public Library, IL, and a 2012 LJ Mover & Shaker, asked the panel how to create a calming library. The solution? Concentrate tech in certain areas of the library. People want to be able to get away from it. Another balance to strike, said Crawford, is with technology: tech is a trend but, in areas where patrons can afford their own devices, so is tech saturation. Julia Crawford, director of interior design, Grimm + Parker, also cited the need for a balance between transparency and privacy-“put the people on display,” she said, but also establish a “cocoon-like environment” for children and adults alike. To connect the new building to the library’s history and previous identity, he suggested repurposing architectural elements such as using the old floor as the ceiling or old doors as privacy walls. He called for transparency-being able to see in and through library spaces-but also for a hierarchy of privacy built in to the design. Kevin Montgomery, partner, krM Architecture, cited the now-common mantra of shifting from archives to people spaces and echoed the importance of daylighting. Bottom row, l.–r.: CML’s Alison Circle (l.) and Grimm + Parker’s Julia Crawford held court during the “Moving from Collections to Connections” panel, which also featured (l.–r.) HBM’s Kevin Kennedy, OPN’s Mindy Sorg, and GUND Partnership’s Christine Verbitzki. Middle row, l.–r.: Challenge participants brainstormed design solutions architects (l.–r.) Toby Olsen from OPN Architects, Stephanie Shook from HBM Architects, and Kevin Montgomery from krM Architecture discussed trends. LEADIN HERE.Top row, l.–r.: Reps from vendor sponsors Worden and Tech Logic talked the talk. For those that do come inside, Shook pointed to a rise in areas that can be sectioned off and used after hours without opening the whole library, for special events, and making quiet reading spaces do double duty. Stephanie Shook, head of interiors, HBM Architects, cited a trend often overlooked because it sits outside the building proper: drive-up services, she said, are so popular that they can exceed the circulation of whole branches in some systems with which HBM has worked. Olsen urged scaling down the desk, removing velvet ropes and turnstiles and other barriers to free movement through the space adding electronic displays and placing a new emphasis on views and vistas, which in turn suggests lower shelves and wider aisles to provide better lines of sight and access to daylight. Toby Olsen, library design team leader, OPN Architects, cited large flexible lobbies, cafés, outdoor programming plazas, and auditoriums as trends, all driven by the rise of the library as town hub. Adding a café can also lengthen the experience, she said, as can a family privacy room, and turning desks into movable furniture can make the users’ relationship with librarians feel less transactional. In the day’s first panel, CML CEO Patrick Losinski led a discussion of trends in library design and renovating the buildings of previous eras in particular.Ĭhristine Verbitzki, principal, GUND Partnership, called for library renovations to “undo the book bunker” and follow the retail model of putting staple items in the back to pull patrons through the space. Miller welcomed attendees, who would later sign up for one of five design challenges. Bottom row, l.–r.: CML CEO Pat Losinski and LJ’s Rebecca T. Top row, l.–r.: The Columbus Metropolitan Library’s (CML) own renovation provided an inspiring example, pairing a classic façade with a contemporary rear entrance focusing on natural light. The curious patrons who stopped by to observe without intruding illustrated the truth of one observation made by Alison Circle, chief customer experience officer for CML, during the program: “The public loves to see activity happen.”Ī WINDOW ON THE FUTURE. The new wall of windows facing the adjacent topiary park not only added an inspiring backdrop to the speakers, it exemplified many of the common themes of modern library design and of the day’s discussions-openness, transparency, natural light, and the connection to outdoor space, among them. LJ’s Design Institute: Columbus broke with tradition by hosting the day’s convening not in a separate auditorium or event space away from patrons but right on the floor of the newly renovated Columbus Metropolitan Library’s (CML) reading room-surrounded by the energy of a busy urban public library. Ohio’s Columbus Metropolitan Library hosted a deep dive into design in a setting that spoke volumes
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