Archinect - News

AIA/ALA Library Building Award winners bolster the value in caring for community libraries

2015-04-06T19:16:00-04:00

The arched ceilings, stained glass windows, and other embellished details of some of the world's oldest university libraries or contemporary hotspots like, say, OMA's glass-clad Seattle Public Library get enough attention when it comes to the "best" library designs. While those libraries are impressive in their own regard, smaller and local community libraries are equally valuable. They can be that much-needed catalyst to revive a neighborhood or that comfortable quiet haven to get work done or temporarily escape from it all (including napping). Even as library archives become increasingly digital, libraries are evolving facilities that shouldn't be taken for granted.

In this spirit, the AIA and the American Library Association (ALA) like to recognize and promote local libraries that are considered to be exemplary models of stellar library design in their Library Building Awards program. The awards jury (listed at the bottom) selected six projects for 2015:

Cedar Rapids Public Library...

Look inside Heatherwick Studio's newly opened Learning Hub at NTU Singapore

2015-03-12T20:53:00-04:00

After Heatherwick Studio won the competition to design the Learning Hub at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, the cocoon-like building finally opened its doors this week. Alongside Heatherwick Studio, CPG Consultants worked as the Lead Architect and Sustainability Consultant for the Learning Hub. The 8-story building is NTU Singapore's first redevelopment in 20 years, and is also part of the university's larger £360 million ($536.3 million) redevelopment plan for the campus.

Although the building looks enclosed from the outside, the mixed-use Hub forgoes the traditional box-shaped layout of university buildings to encourage instead an open learning environment for the school's 33,000 students and faculty. Tapering toward a central public atrium, the building's 12 concrete towers provide a total of 56 cornerless smart classrooms that NTU designed to reflect their new pedagogy that promotes small-group teaching and active in-person learning, an important method to uphol...