Page 49 - A_View_Of_Their_Own_the_Story_of_Westmount

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Inside the Footpnnt
Entrance. On the right, to the west, is the West-
mount Room. And at the end , the new building.
"It gives you an episodic experience of the old
building," says library director Caroline Thibodeau.
She says the wide-open library concept advo-
cated by some might have destroyed the ambiance
and coziness of the old building as well as the
heritage value that users have come to associate
with their library. "What a lot of people didn't
understand was the character of our library and our
clientele and how they use the library."
The spine continues south to a view, on the
right, of the new courtyard and of the three-storey
glazed wall of the new building itself. And suddenly
one has arrived at the new Rose pavilion.
"It's a warehouse of books," says Mayor Trent.
"We were worried it might be too industrial looking,
but the books are the main focus. And it' s chock-
full of books."
Here, the darker colours, leaded windows and
oak furnishings of the Findlay pavilions give way to
maple, metal and glazing as well as polished
limestone window sills. Here, reading lamps have
white shades to match the white metal shelving that
is lined up between the concrete columns. The
columns set up the building's "streets".
Details of the pavilion's design created their
own debate within council as well as between
council and the architect. Ceiling height, exposed
ceilings, treatment of concrete, the size of windows,
rooftop mechanicals and even the very contempo-
rary flavour itself consumed hours of time in
discussion and compromise.
Height of the new building was limited by the
basic concept that it should not dwarf the Findlay
building. This ruled»out consideration of a pitched
roof, greater ceiling height and , finally, hung
ceilings. Exposed ductwork has been sheathed and
masked by low-hanging lighting; mechanicals on the
roof are painted the same colour as the coated-
copper trim to minimize their impact.
While the basic exterior design ended up being
more "modern" than initial sketches indicated, Mr.
Trent says, the use of matching building materials
has helped it blend with the Findlay building.
"In December 1992 , Rose was sketching a
rather classical brick facade. In December 1993 ,
when we were presented with the final plan at the
end of the design development phase, the design
had radically changed." It revealed a more modern
treatment of the window on the east face and the
three metal-clad window protrusions up the south
wall. "They looked pretty severe and Bauhausian in
the blueprints. The A & P (Architectural and
Planning Commission) had a fit." But "the model
looked much nicer and Council was finally won
over to the new design. The result is perfectly
complementary to Findlay," Mr. Trent says.
The main floor of the Rose building is devoted
to the reference collection with a reading area in the
glazed three-storey alcove on the north face. Library
offices and a board room on the east side look ou t
on the park.
A central stairway takes one up to the top level
(what is being called the second storey) with its
clerestory window in the roof, the general adult
collection and the view over the Findlay rooftop.
Two flights down, on the bottom level (ground
floor), lies the expansive children's department with
a large story room containing a sink and cupboards
for craft work or snacks. Large windows make this
the brightest of the floors. "The kids can look ou t
and see the tennis," the mayor says.
Though librarians wanted a more central
location upstairs, "Rose felt children should be close
to ground so they can look ou t easily and be able to
play in the courtyard," the library director says.
Setting them beside the audio-visual department
also makes sense, she adds. Both tend to be noiser
sections of the library and parents may be more
likely to browse in the audio-visual department at
the same time.
Washrooms are on this level as are two circula-
tion desks: one for the A/V collection, another for
the children's department. Various self checkout
units to desensitize books are located upstairs. Also
on the ground floor are staff areas including a
lounge, cataloguing room and storage areas. A
stairway leads up to the tower and into the attic.
The stairway between the ground and main
floors was specially designed for little legs and baby
carriages. "We had mockups of the steps and
walked up and down them to make sure they were
comfortable," Miss Thibodeau says. "They're gentle
enough to bump a stroller down."
"Subtle and simple," architect Rose describes his
design. The real challenge, he said during unveiling
of the model in May 1994 , was to overcome the fears
of change in something such as the library "that's so
deeply embedded in everyone's lives."
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