How Old Libraries are Made New

One of the most meaningful things you can do when renovating your Library is to incorporate your existing structures to enhance the overall look and historical value of your building.  This is especially useful if your building is much older, but it doesn't have to be super old.

I've worked on two different projects, one was a Library and the other was a mortgage lending facility, but both were equally rewarding once we completed the projects and the historic effects provided a ton of character to both spaces.

Join your colleagues and other like-minded Library pros on the Off the Shelf Facebook group!  So much great information and conversation there.  

So here are a couple of case studies from my own personal adventures in Library design (as well as commercial design) to show you how you can use your own building characteristics to create a whole new atmosphere full of character and charm that might even increase patron traffic if the story behind the additions are interesting enough!

CASE STUDY #1 - HALL COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

This particular project is very dear to my heart since it was my own childhood Library and being a part of the update and renovation made it that much more special to me.  Plus I got to work with an amazing Library director that has since become a wonderful friend.  So this project was one of my favorites.  But enough of the sentimental stuff, let me give you the platform of the project.

This was a late mid-century building that was in fact a Library at it's conception.  It was designed by a local architect and had the unique character you might expect of a building constructed on the cusp of the 70's.  An all brick structure with a substantial exterior overhang that I affectionately refer to as the hat.  Mostly because that's what it looked like.  A large brick hat with at least a 5'-0" overhang that covered a pea gravel sidewalk encircling the building.  

Because of this, there were oversized brick columns on the exterior that we were able to use when enclosing the ground level with the main purpose of adding much-needed square footage.  So while we changed the entire skin of the building to a completely different material set, we kept the original brick in this capacity  once we installed all new storefront on the face of the building.

The brick was traditional earthy red which did not go with the design concept of the building so we were able to paint the brick columns, that were now housed near the perimeter of the interior walls, a darker shade of the wall color.  This added texture, character and much-needed dimension to the room.  But most importantly it helped us to maintain a part of the original history of the building.

The second and most important element of the design that we kept was the centrally-located large spiral staircase.  This is no ordinary staircase.  In fact when the community was asked (on multiple occasions I might add) how they wanted their new Library to look, most people said they had no special preference as long as we kept the staircase.

The staircase has very wide steps and is surrounded by metal rods and a spiral wooden hand rail.  As you walk into the building, you can't help but be drawn right to it.  Because it was so unique and might I even go as far as to say majestic (which I can because it's a part of some of my fondest childhood memories), we not only kept it, but we made sure there were visual design cues that lead your eye right to it.

We changed the materials on the steps and risers to be a more durable and dependable rubber product and then capped the nosings with stainless steel.  Then we created a piano curved soffit with a matching piano curve LVT material beneath it that not only enhanced the roundness of the staircase, but also created the illusion of the space flowing directly to that staircase.

The second building had an older history and was a bit of a staple in the community.  In fact no one seems to know that building by any other name than the "Gym of '36".  And this building has housed many different occupations over the decades.

CASE STUDY #2 - HOMESTAR FINANCIAL CORPORATE OFFICE

This building was similar in location and style as it was an older brick building and can actually be seen from the Library location.  In 1936, the local high school was building a school gym when the great Gainesville tornadoes collided on the town square and ripped apart everything in it's path.

The city was devastated and so much architecture was destroyed.  However, the gym hadn't been completed so it did not suffer the same cruel fate.  It became the basketball gym for the school and was a proudly-standing 3-story building.  Over the years it has remained when everything else around it changed.

So when we were approached to renovate it as a corporate office for Homestar Financial, we all (owner included) knew we wanted to maintain as much of the physical integrity of the building as possible.

We again managed to keep the brick walls in the offices so while everything has fresh new finishes, these offices still tell a bit of a story.  New windows were put in to replace the damaged ones and the entry was beefed up to somewhat pay homage to the original side entrance of the gym.

The jewel of the design however, was the gym floors.  As you walk throughout the upper levels, you will see hard wood floors that are the original basketball court.  The original design intent was to keep the paint lines, but in order to sand and finish them properly, the lines didn't make it in the end.  But they have been restored to their original wood grain and were sealed.

They really are stunning.

This building will forever be memorialized as the Gym of '36 as long as it can keep elements of it's original structure.  And that's the key.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you're getting ready to embark on a renovation of your existing building or maybe even a different building and it has some age to it.  Be intentional about looking for architectural elements that you can reuse.  The character and historical value of this action will make all the difference in the world to you and your community.

PROJECT PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS:

Rubber Floors: Mondo Contract Flooring