ThemOnes' Account

I hope my technical comments regarding the stairs and ramp is not what lead you to decide to abandon your foundation. More importantly, I´d like to understand your original concept behind raising it up... was it to be level with the current school, to create a grand entrance, or something else? Thanks for including the floor plans, they help to understand better the layout of your two floors. Adding a couple of overall dimensions or a graphic scale could be helpful in the future. Is the elevator the only means for getting between the main level and the mezzanine or will their be stairs too, because I imagine if students all have to wait for the elevator it could cause problems. Is the library a stand alone building or does it connect directly to the rest of your school, and if so just at the ground floor or also at the mezzanine level?

I think the larger window bays are more successful. I think the smaller ones don´t necessarily have to project from the facade but could just be flush with the wall, making the larger bays even more dramatic. Try to find harmony in balance in the overall facade. Right now the windows on the first floor look small and sad in comparison to the dynamic and busy portion of the second floor. Are there only windows on the front face? The idea to have natural light entering the library through additional skylights is a great idea, though indirect or diffuse light is best for less glare. Check out the skylights at Alvar Aalto´s Viipuri Library - http://www.alvaraalto.fi/viipuri/building.htm, and Renzo Piano´s addition and renovations to the Morgan Library - http://www.arcspace.com/architects/piano/morgan_library/

Below is a link to Chapter 6 of the book ¨Designing a school library media center for the future¨ by Rolf Erikson, Carolyn Bussian Markuson. I thought it could also be a good reference for you to check out, as I think the upper floor layout looks empty, especially compared to the first floor.
http://books.google.com/books?id=ZrCmaCyJXwgC&lpg=PA33&dq=library%20layo...

Our group has decided that the foundation was unnecessary and just created more problems than it resolved. So we have removed the foundation completely.
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On another note, our SketchUp abilities are less than par, so we decided to draw a floor plan rather than separating the two floors that we had difficulties putting together. They are located in the Brainstorm/Analyze section. In the layout, we added an additional meeting room, and an International/Atlas room. We also added three additional exits, with two that act as fire escape options.
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As for the roof, we too are a bit confused about the type of roof we are going to have. However, the idea we are leaning toward is having a skylight roof that would let light through the ceiling and down to the lounge, but have a washtub shape that would let in maximum light with minimum heat. We like this option because it allows more light than our current library and can also keep the library cool on hot Sacramento days.
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We currently have four pieces of student art on the top floor and a garden/walkway in the front of the library. We have enough room on the second floor for even more student artwork.

It would really be helpful to see a more completed overall design.. with the layers applied to each other. I am a bit confused about the type of roof you will have and how the windows will add to the aesthetics? It appears that the windows consume the majority of the aesthetics of the front facade. What sort of landscaping, garden or public art could you have to bring about more of a completed design? Keep up the good work. You can do this!

You guys have a great design and your ideas are fantastic!!!! I dont see a garden though.......... will you guys be incorporating one into your project? If so , where would it go? What kind of garden would it be?

Thanks for adding more images that show the interior spaces and window bays in more detail. One thing that would be helpful, is either in plan or your overall 3d view if you indicated the different areas either by name or with letters/numbers and a legend, that you could then also use in the detailed images to help make clearer where the views are from.
I´m a little confused why your library building is siting off to the side of the foundation in your rendering. Are the stairs you are showing at the base, more like for sitting on, or are they supposed to function like real stairs (if they are real stairs their rise is too high). Also, your ramp doesn´t meet code ADA requirements (it would have to be over 48 feet long and divided into a minimum of two runs) to see more details on how to calculate code compliant ramp dimensions you can visit:
http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm#4.8
But more important and interestingly I´d like to understand better how the indoor spaces of the library relate to the adjacent exterior spaces. Also, since the library is to be used by the community at large, where is the primary access point for the community? What is the view one would see when approaching the library? Does it have a direct access from the outside, or through the school building only.

Really like your desings and how you have the second floor overviewing the first floor. You really need to put some of your sketches that you have drawn. I fell like you have a lot more details to put into your desing.

One of the main problems that our library faces, besides space, is its storage and organization. In our new library, we have created much more bookshelf space and have them separated by genre, fiction/nonfiction, multilingual, and so on. We believe this will improve the look of the inside of our library by placing the books on the shelves, rather than the tables and floors, like our current library is forced to do.
Thank you for helping us clarify.
-ThemOnes

Your project is great! I like that you have used some resources from different designs of current libraries such as the Cerritos as inpirations for your design. However, i can't help but notice that most of the information you have posted is directed towards only your school's library space problem and a new media room design. Im curious about what other problems your current library has, including its organization and what may be wrong with some its functions. Also, it would be nice to give a small piece of information about what you would change beside having a larger space for everyone to work on with computers and a better view of the library.

We currently have one meeting room in our library, but our images are not very clear. It is located on the first floor and is a large space that groups could use for a quiet independent room. We will try to create more rooms for these community activities so there are more available to them all.
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Another addition we will incorporate will be an atlas/international room next to our archive filing room. This room will include atlas books and maps, and multilingual texts.
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If we were to design an online e-book website for our school library, we would also like to have multilingual/multicultural texts, videos, and other sources for our international students and parents.
Some students currently bring their laptops to school, but there is a limited amount of connection availability. Our renovated library would have a secure wireless connection that students would be given the code to. The library would also have its own password, so Mira Loma students could access it from home.
If we were to keep our library open after school hours for the public, we could sell library cards that would give access to all of our hard bound books, and e-books.
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However, the idea of an online school library is just that, an idea. It also does not improve the library we have set out to fix. So, we will work on the addition of specific rooms to adjust the problems in your above comments
Thank you---
ThemOnes

We are really impressed by your design. We love how your top floor overlooks the bottom floor. We feel as if you could improve your library by adding more details and possibly more meeting rooms so it will be more beneficial for students and staff. Keep up the good work!