Urban STAMP's Account

Doing a glass roof can be extremely difficult if you're trying to keep the project energy efficient, but it can be done. Even the best insulated glass does not perform anywhere close to a standard insulated roof assembly. Therefore, you have to develop shading elements that block direct sunlight so your library doesn't heat up like an oven!

Check out the Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago for a great example of how a comfortable space can be created when using a glass roof (and a sophisticated mechanical system):

http://www.archdaily.com/24652/the-modern-wing-renzo-piano/

You could also use indigenous plants that rely on the rain for their water; although they would still require some maintenance (trimming, etc).

Denim would be an interesting choice! Have you done any research that shows how well this type of insulation performs compared to more traditional fiberglass, mineral fiber, or even foam insulation?

For many LEED buildings, the firm I work for specifies polystyrene insulation which has an R-Value of 5 per inch. Denim is typically around 3.5 per inch. Polystyrene resists moisture, which means it will retain its insulating properties for much longer, therefore delaying the need for replacement down the line.

Traffic flow is indeed a very important consideration when designing (or redesigning) a space!

Are these vertical blinds ever opened up for the students? What direction do these windows face?

Depending on whether you want to enlarge the library in your design, you may want to explore some unique storage solutions to accommodate not only the books your school has, but any future books they bring in.

We want our library to have both a peaceful as well as a lively feel to it. When given the challenge to incorporate a garden into our library we had some doubts but with a great amount of time, research, and consideration we've found the absolute perfect type of garden to be a part of our library. A Zen garden is both beautiful as well as calming and would be the perfect fit for the redesign of the library. Our Director of Landscape, Director of Building Design, and Director of Interior Design have all worked closely together to find the most functional as well as logical place for the garden. We will be uploading basic images of our layout to give a better visual on how we incorporated a peaceful Zen garden into the library. Thank you for your time!

Thank you for your help! We had some difficulties loading up our sketch onto our page. We'll be sure to upload a clear image.

I read your summary and you seem to have selected a couple key issues to address in your design. interior and exterior visual are needed to get an idea of what you are creating. What are your ideas to connect a garden the library and for what purpose?

Mr. Cox

Hi. Your model is sort of hard to see. Rather than making a fuzzy screencapture of your Google SketchUp model or drawing, please export it and save a view as a JPG image. Then upload that JPG. Here's how...

Go to: File > Export > 2D graphic > from drop down list, change export type to JPG > Save as JPG