carbondale branch library
Carbondale is a small mountain town in Colorado, USA, home to a vocal community of foodies, recreationists, artists and eccentrics.
Slowness is a supportive component of the public library experience, which relies on chance encounters with both library materials and other patrons for its success.
An elaborated ceiling hierarchy is played off a uniform ground plane, creating varied spatial and day-lighting conditions across an open field of programmatic settings. This encourages a meandering choreography and at the same time, is coextensive with selected exterior situations both near and far.
A glazed entry portico at the north includes a channel glass screen that allows southern light to animate what is otherwise a cold, north-facing terrain. The play of alpine light informs the representational content of the public front of the library, utilizing the quality of this exceptional light and air for poetic ends, with this simple, yet responsive material.
"Of Carbondale, not in Carbondale" was the architect's statement of intent in achieving a meaningful, organic connection to the community as well as an interconnection to the site that would inform the architecture's making. Carbondale was voted among the "the fifty next great towns" in the US in 2008 by National Geographic and is a mountain home to an eclectic mix of artists, architects, foodies, environmentalists and recreationists.
The building transitions from a residential scale building at the north to a civic scale presence at the south quad. Green site walls at the margins 'grow' the architecture. Generous outdoor social spaces include a continuous north porch along Sopris Avenue, a reading porch at the quad, an outdoor community table and public blackboards at the northeast corner of the site.
Interiority is created through a varied ceiling hierarchy and is played off a uniform ground plane, creating varied spatial and day-lighting conditions across an open field of program areas. Circulation was developed with the idea of a choreographed meandering that allows for a slow experience of architectural encounters even as one approaches the building. This purposeful slowness is also supportive of the library experience which relies on serendipitous encounters with other library materials and patrons, both inside and outside of the envelope.
The north porch light well and channel glass rain screen allows southern light to animate what is otherwise cold, north-facing terrain. The play of alpine light informs the representational content of the public face of the library utilizing the quality of this exceptional light and air for poetic ends, with this simple, yet responsive material.
