Heatherwick Studio has released details of their first commissioned public library project in the town of Columbia, Maryland.
Featuring a climbable façade, the five-story library opens to the city’s main promenade with a double-height atrium and a series of transversing exterior terraces lined with native plant species while providing sweeping views of nearby Lake Kittamaqundi.
The studio says its design is meant to “reflect the changed role of the library and serve a community with a rich heritage of fostering diversity and promoting wellbeing.”
Columbia was first developed as a planned community under the progressive vision of founder James Rouse, a prominent local developer known for espousing his conception of “cities as gardens for the growing of people.” Their contribution, therefore, looks to honor this legacy and will serve as a font for educational programs and other activities in line with Rouse’s philosophy.
“Columbia has always been driven by a socially radical vision,” partner Stuart Wood said in a press announcement. “This legacy inspired us to evolve the traditional library beyond books and into a new type of community center for broader learning and social exchange. A walkable, planted building that emerges from the lakeside landscape will house an amphitheater for events, play areas and light-filled rooms designed for working and learning anything from cooking to IT. This will be the community center everyone in Howard County deserves.”
Other interior elements include a café, teaching kitchen, makers’ lab, and children’s play areas. Heatherwick says to expect construction to start late in 2024. The library will open its doors to the public in the year 2027.
22 Comments
There's something grotesque about their work - the architectural work to be exact. Parodies of the real thing - be it a forest, an island, an acorn, a field. Heatherwick's MO now is taking an object of nature and then blowing it up a thousand-fold into a mess of mirrored metal and glass, sometimes with a tree hat. Crude details galore.
I fear Heatherwick, like BIG, has become a cultural fad. (See Emperor, new clothes.)
Yeah. I get having a house style and standardizing their product line-up - you gain economies of scale and increase institutional knowledge by doing the same thing again and again, better each time. But Heatherwick, dios mio, just pumps out these garish looking parodies all over the world. And developers love it.
grotesque is a great word. i really find the work disgusting; it makes me queasy anytime i see a new proposal.
Terrible design. This will be an expensive building to heat, cool, and maintain, not exactly environmentally friendly. Scope of the project, is this supposed to be a library or a community center or some other mixed used facility? It is as if there was no architect present during the design process and no Captain (Architect) steering the ship during the design process. This is a hot mess. Because there is scope creep as to the functionality of this "library" the design has failed on a design aesthetic level and a scope of the function of a "library". If you want a multi-use facility then the design process should have had discussions or a charrette with the government and the public. I suspect that this design process was led more by the government officials and they tried to incorporate other uses under the auspicious title of “library” in fact it is more like a “mixed use facility” and that is why the project is so expensive and a terrible design. The terrible design isn’t just the poor design process and scope or program, but the lack of an architecture firm that seeks to excel at architecture. Plants and terraces on the roof, what is this? This “library” could have been so much better. This looks like a first-year architecture student designed this. Going back to heating and the environment for the books, all of the glass will make this a greenhouse. Creating lots of heat in the summer, A/C bill, and sunlight on books to discolor them. Common sense would have used somethings from the LEED standard or how would a librarian want the environment for their books. They should have gotten an architectural firm that designs libraries, instead they got a design firm that looks like this is their first library design and it shows. Design or the Art in Architecture: Form follows function, I usually don’t think that this has to occur. Function can follow form if there is a talented architect at the helm of the ship. If the architect is talented enough then then they can create a great piece of architecture and fit the function into that form or shape of the architectural concept. The problem with this design called the “library” is that it has failed at the design of the form and failed at the ability to understand the function let alone create a functioning building. At the end of the day this is just a building that has been terribly designed and just because it is called a piece of architecture doesn’t mean that it is actually a piece of architecture in the eye of other architects and the public. Architecture is a representation of the people and its societal/culture thoughts/beliefs at that period in time. This “library” building clearly represents the driving force behind this design, the government officials, who have no design or architectural knowledge, experience, and/or awareness of space in relation to people and the community. This building’s monstrosity will represent the poor leadership of this government’s officials and “leaders” that approved this and endorsed this terrible monstrosity. This project will appear one day in the books of Art and Architectural history books/classes, but it will probably be noted as a failure and a reflection of the government that built the “library”. Had the architects understood urban design and landscape architecture they could have designed a better piece of architecture that could have improved the urban environment and enhanced the landscape of the Columbia downtown area and this proposed site. Terrible design and a reflection of those who support this terrible design is a reflection of the current government thinking/leadership, but then again one of the supporters who touts this “library” design also touts or promotes rail transit for the sake of promoting rail transit. Here too we have another government official/leader who is blind leading the blind. Rail transit isn’t a we build it and people will use it. Good design, urban design/planning, is the key to rail transit, but this takes listening to understand the problem to devise a solution that works and financially will support the rail transit’s usage. The current government will continue to produce poor government direction because they don’t listen and as in this blog it looks like some will follow like a herd of sheep, even if it is over the cliff. Good design or architecture is a reflection of our society, this “library” will ultimately reflect our current political governance which is that of telling the people what they need versus listening to the people and helping the people of the county to provide professional and inspirational leadership that builds this community to excel to excellence. As I write this I reflect on how I wanted to just comment on this terrible piece of architecture and functional design as a building, but what I began to realize that this “library” is a true reflection of our time and the current governance style. I have studied architecture, Art & Architecture history, and experienced many numerous places to include urban environments, but I couldn’t just let this terrible “library” be touted as great since I do live in Howard County. I occasionally go to nearby stores in the proposed site. Architecture and quality spaces are something that I love to experience because they can be so pure and up lifting in a rather ordinary day. Since this is a place that I sometimes go to and/or I find everyone always saying how downtown Columbia is so great, but yet I see little mixed use buildings and very few people out and about in the evening. This too is because of poor design. This “library” could be a catalyst of good design and architecture that lifts people, but instead it will be another building to ad to the concrete jungle called Downtown Columbia. This is why politicians and government officials shouldn’t design urban spaces and architecture, and/or be politicians. Politicians should be leaders who lead their people to build a community for the people of the community and let Architects build great spaces to add to their communities. Downtown Columbia has potential, that is if politicians stayed out of the community and leaders led the community, but that will take politicians to become leaders and not politicians politicking.
If the building holds up and sustains meaningful activity in the community, educational, social, and cultural, for x decades, I would have to say it is a successful design. I'm skeptical, of course.
It's a common solution now in community and educational construction, building around large communal spaces and opening up space inside and out and glazing everything so visitors, users can see each other and be seen. Supposedly this transparency encourages community and meaningful interaction, in intimate spaces as well as large. And I'm genuinely curious if it actually works. It feels like they're just glassing up space and putting greenery on top, hoping it will work. Break down walls and throw everybody together and magic will happen. I don't see much thought at all in this design. Is it capable of "fostering diversity and promoting wellbeing"? They're just throwing the pop words out
But if it works, it works.
Concerns:
Maintenance over the long haul. How difficult and expensive is it to maintain those landscaped terraces over the long haul? Such places have limited budgets. And if they don't keep the greenery up, what do you have?
The mission of libraries has changed over the years, but part of the attraction of libraries in the past was to have intimate, secluded spaces to pursue individual studies of whatever nature. You go to libraries to get away from the crowd and crowd thought and behavior. Here, everyone is exposed to all. I find this socially intimidating, not inspiring.
Noise. If the library is successful in drawing visitors and hosts large events, can it control noise throughout? Time was, libraries were quiet. Contemplation requires silence.
And if it down't draw visitors, you have wasted a lot of money on a vacant cavern.
Books are now only part of a library's function, but light is murder on books. It fades colors on bookends, etc. I don't see protection here.
Can they control ventilation and heating/cooling well with all this glass? Will it turn into a greenhouse? How much more expensive is ac with this design?
Cf. BIG's student center for Johns Hopkins: https://archinect.com/news/article/150236637/big-selected-to-design-new-hopkins-student-center
Strange recall of The (now-closed) Vessel. Unfortunate choice. Isn't this only their 2nd US project?
Not everything that avoids the box is unnatural or grotesque (more the opposite if we are being honest)
Not sure why but it reminds me of the Geisel library at UC San Diego. The interior has some superficial resemblance at least. Maybe its just the formal wildness of it all, tied to human experience instead of classical truths...
Something about Heatherwick's architecture attracts discomfort from architects, but joy with its users. It looks like it will be a great library, though the issues Gary raises could be real. The one library that I visited that could offer a clue is the OMA library in Doha. It was I think much larger, and was not too loud by any means, in spite of being a place for families to visit. Libraries have long since become closer to community centres than places to sit in quiet contemplation. Noise and distraction are part of the program. How it functions beyond that is more about community planning than architectural planning. At the very least this is a place that feels welcoming. Not a small thing...
In celebration of this day:
Cheers erupted in the streets of Manhattan early this morning after news broke that the Hudson Yards Vessel will soon be a thing of the past. In a joint statement today, the Vessel’s designer Thomas Heatherwick and Hudson Yard’s developer, Related Companies, announced that the 150-foot-tall copper-clad staircase will be dismantled for safety reasons. Instead, a digital rendering of the structure will be sold as a non-fungible token (NFT) in an auction next month. Earnings from the sale will be used to cover the costs of disassembling the structure.
https://hyperallergic.com/632718/hudson-yards-vessel-to-be-dismantled-april-1/
(This was an April 1 prank that appeared a few years ago.)
We prefer this April 1 prank from 2019, but we’re a little biased…
IKEA Buys Naming Rights to Heatherwick’s Vessel at Hudson Yards
Best ever. You should resurrect this periodically.
Surrounded by parking lots and modernist suburbanism, there's nothing welcoming about this carnival of glass and cantilevers. Given all the ramps, maybe Elon Musk will retrofit it for his latest Tesla show room, once you wipe off the green washing. At least it's tied to human experience instead of classical truths...!)
Carnival is the word. See below.
This context is boxy/modern, though the buildings aren't offensive and I assume are adequate. The site is accessible, and with the water and landscape it allows promise and possibility for transformation. If Columbia has the "social vision" the post claims, such a building could hold great potential for the community.
A community center/library is a special place that can set the tone and character for a neighborhood. It might embody an expressive message that could inspire a vision of society and guide over time. For architecture, it can provide a type different from that of the commercial and residential constructions that dominate the landscape, offering alternative forms, alternative ways of understanding the built environment.
Instead, we get the Heatherwick, which is self-effacing—it covers itself in greenery—and at the same time obtrusive. He stands outside of both history and the present, and ignores the millennia of architectural discussions, on his own. He is talking to himself.
And I don't see any point to it. The facade is arch in its expression, playful, funky, and sort of suggestive—it looks like a crouching animal or something else that exists only in Heatherwick's imagination, something unnaturally natural.
It reminds me of the ethos and expression of an amusement park.
Then there is the giant birdbath. As in so much of Heatherwick's work, a suggestive or symbolic form is enlarged into something that is monstrous and precious—grotesque.
A ceremonial hall at entry might be in order, but this one is oversized and vacuous. What is the social vision here? What social interaction is encouraged? Are people going to gather in the central circle? To do what? Stand around? Are they going to sit around and above the circle and read or watch those in the center? Take selfies of each other?
Etc.
It is an apt expression for the Age of Fluff. It's where we are.
agree it is indulgent and the symbolism is not exactly part of the canon. It is very attractive though, unlike modernism at its height, an architecture that regular people can get behind. His work is more like Venturi than Mies, so the carnival connection makes sense. As for how the public will act, the answer is we dont know. The Doha library by OMA seemed equally grandiose (if brilliant), but it turns out that families want to go there for a whole number of social reasons, so it turns out to be an amazing place for community that was probably never intended. Here there is an intention, or a declaration at least, and seems there is space enough. AND as you point out there is the carnival thing going on. Why wouldnt people go there? I dont think we can judge the building based on how people will act and whether they have the right behavioral prediction algorithm embedded in the curves and open spaces. None of us know what that is. At the very least it can accommodate visitors and it is open enough to change. The rest is about community programming, a matter for the librarians and managers. Libraries are amazing places in recent years, taking on all kinds of community functions, from incubating businesses to after-school classes. Who knows what this place will be. Maybe its just gonna be a place to look at books, but that is unlikely given the declared intent. That the city around the site is not nice is certainly true, but not much of an argument for making a nice thing. Maybe it leads to more good stuff for the area. Stranger things have happened.
Wish I was @ home with my library (instead of living in a van by the river) but I have a book w/ an interview with Denise Scott Brown. There's an amazing quote in there from her (paraphrasing) about the joys of creating architecture - the intellectual challenge of shaping a program into a usable space, and then the surprise and delight that comes with seeing people using your building, especially using it in a way you didn't anticipate.
Libraries can be contained in a 8”x10” iPad. All physical libraries are now “fluff.” Instead (my landscape is going to show) create parks and outdoor areas conducive to reading…shade from glare…snacks…etc. We can reduce the mass of the library by 95% and probably have a more versatile dynamic space.
One small note - the “giant birdbath” is an existing feature.
It's a shame we can't get follow-up studies, Will. I'd especially be curious to hear from the staff over time. I'm really curious—and skeptical—as to how the Heatherwick will play out. It feels vapid, mindless, and trendy.
Much is shown in his library that we see elsewhere. First it represents a view that bringing people together, lots of them, where they can see each other and be seen, is somehow meaningful, is an expression of "community." It is a Facebook mentality, and we see where that has got us. Abandoned is any sense of variation, of difference, of meaningful separation, of meaningful integration. Just throw everybody together where they can vie for attention, get lost in the crowd.
And it represents a trend in recent construction that supports such a mentality, largely through transparency, architecture of glass that is barely architecture. Ignored is any recognition of contexts of time and place, of cultural discussion, of continuity, of disruption, of the history of architecture itself. You don't get the sense that such architecture spends any time with any of these, and it shows. Somehow, we've gone beyond all that—where? To this Heatherwick adds an element of big top, P. T. Barnum ("there's a sucker born every minute") showmanship. The design works largely to draw crowds and bring attention to itself, not present some meaningful symbol that might guide the community
There has to be some way to measure success, and it can't be raw numbers. Heatherwick's Vessel, which this center resembles, drew crowds, up until it had to be closed because of suicides. It has to be the most pointless expression of our time. Success has to be measured in meaningful activity, which will be reflected as much in small group activity as larger. Maintaining some relationship to preserving and spreading knowledge has to be the core of its identity, else why build it? Ways to do that change, so the program will have to be flexible and be able to adapt.
Such a building also has to be able to weather changes in moods and behavior. There will be times when people stay away for stretches, when the institution needs to weather the drought and preserve its vital functions, regardless. At such times, this library would become an empty shell.
Aalto's Säynätsalo Town Hall, above, combines several separate functions—library, commercial space, offices, and, significantly, at the top, the town hall itself—in a varied yet integrated whole. The steps have been used for plays. It promotes the idea of variety within integration, and literally and figuratively gives a notion of society. It stands apart from and at the same time reflects its natural environment. Its relationship with past architecture, especially that of old Italian towns, and with modern would take a long discussion, which is the point. And at some 70 years old, it is still going strong.
I’m suspicious of buildings garnished with plants.
isn't that your job though?
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