Client: Leon County Board of Commissioners

Project: 12,000 sf branch library

Cost: $2.5 million

Status: Conceptual Design - Scheme B

Delivery: Bid

Description: The form - flowing, dynamic, lyrical, organic – takes its cues from many different impulses. It is first, a response to the pastoral foreground – bending to the undulations of the lake; simultaneously bowing down in reverence to the majestic oaks and opening up in invitation to the pubic. Its poise is proud yet deferring to the bucolic, Arcadian landscape reflected in its visage.

In section, the metaphor becomes more literal as the building’s ‘covers’ are ‘bound’ abstractly into a recognizable form – the reason d’etre for this building type. Inside, the repetitive wood ribs and the strong sense of support are evocative the belly of a ship or maybe a struts of a plane – either one transporting it’s passenger through time. Or maybe, the belly of whale casting out Jonah to go forth and enlighten the world.

Construction: The serpentine-like body of this structure consists of a 20' x 46’ module multiplied 16 times. The frame is composed of 2' deep glue-laminated wood beams gusseted at the fillets with metal plates. Because the curved sections of the frame are uniform in size, they can be mass-produced from one gig thereby rendering a truly unique interior volume at an affordable price.

The structure is sheathed with 4.5” of rigid insulation board (polyisocyanurate) yielding R-30 on the roof, south side, end walls and floor. The glazing panels on the north are not subject to direct heat gain and are standard low-e, argon filled, triple-pane. The north wall can be augmented with insulation panels to increase energy efficiency and reduce indirect solar gain.

The skin is the ubiquitous standing seam, and attached with concealed fasteners. The radii are consistent with industry metal-roof bending tolerances.
 
The roof angle is calculated to maximize the efficiency of photo-voltaic panels on the roof. A 100kw system will generate around $16,000 in savings a year.

The entire structure is elevated on a pedestal to give the building presence from the highway and also celebrate it’s  unique form.