Award

J UNE 2018 | 83 Springdale Branch Library and Komagata Maru Park PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESS REDLARSKI/COURTESY NORAM BUILDING SYSTEMS Springdale Branch Library and Komagata Maru Park by PETER STENNING A ppearing like a shimmering band of glass amid green space, and supported by an aluminum frame with LED perimeter lights, the new Springdale Branch Library in Brampton, Ontario seems like an architectural offering from the dis- tant future, and yet it also comes off as part of the natural landscape, due to its lightness and undulating form con- tained within a triangular shape. "Springdale is a game-changer that washes away old perceptions of pub- lic library space," says Rebecca Raven, CEO of Brampton Library. Dropping into the well-established Springdale neighbourhood of over 100,000 residents hungry for a library service, this branch of the same name must fulfill many needs. It has 20,000 square feet of library space that can be converted to host public events, a 5,000-square-foot multi-purpose room for library programming, a common area, and an inspiring children's section – all capped by a green roof, greywater system, geothermal heating and cool- ing, and other attributes that combine to make this a LEED Gold facility. The design by Tyler Sharp, principal and design director for RDH Architects (RDHA), is at once functional and esthetically striking, with windows cov- ered in a solar-responsive ceramic frit that resembles the pages of a book and also helps to reduce glare and heat gain. Although development of the four- acre greenfield site upon which the library is located was challenging due to budget constrictions, the outcome has been an unqualified success – to the point where RDHA won a 2015 Canadian Architect award for design excellence. "Our vision for its potential to be a destination informed the building design. We asked for the new facility to be situated as close to Bramalea Road as possible, thus maximizing its street presence and forcing parking to the rear of the site," recalls Raven. NAK Design Strategies ensured that the parking area would itself be unique. "RDHA as the main focus group worked closely with us on all aspects of landscape development, and for the parking we augmented its orienta- tion beside a conservation area with a perimeter walkway as well as a bio- swale for parking lot water runoff and the planting of native materials," says NAK principal Robert Ng. In their goal to connect the building to its landscape, the architects employed two devices: the notion of an organic, undulating perimeter joining the build- ing and courtyards; and the creation of an artificial topography within the flat landscape of the floor slab of the inte- rior, and the ceiling and roof planes of the library structure. The design is such that from a distance, the roof has a hill- like profile. Inside, this profile translates into a ceiling ascension augmented by a skylight over a reading atrium, then a descent over a children's area to create a sense of intimacy. Ease of flow was all-important to the library's design scheme. People LOCATION 10705 Bramalea Road, Brampton, Ontario OWNER/DEVELOPER Brampton Library / City of Brampton ARCHITECT RDH Architects GENERAL CONTRACTOR Aquicon Construction STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT WSP Canada Inc. MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL/ LEED CONSULTANT Jain Sustainability Consultants Inc. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT NAK Design Strategies TOTAL SIZE 26,000 square feet TOTAL COST $20 million entering the facility would first encounter a lounge-like space look- ing onto the contemplative garden and augmented by a feature skylight. Overlooking this area would be a coun- ter where people can work or read. Books would occupy one side of the library, while another corner would feature open programming space. The final corner would be the children's section, with an interactive Everbright wall, consisting of dials which each contain the full colour spectrum. This section is capped by a smaller version of the main skylight. But arguably the most striking visual element of the entire facility is its façade: the undulating perimeter of glass and solar responsive frit pattern would be supported by an aluminum framing system with a series of inte- grated linear LED light fixtures, and finished with a screen of exterior stain- less steel tubes. "We were delighted by the amount of glass and the literal transparency of the space," says Raven. "Whether walking or driving by, the perimeter LED lighting reinforces the idea that we strive to communicate: the library is a community beacon, inviting residents to come in and be a part of it." Andrew Dionne, structural engi- neer at WSP Canada, concurs: "This was an absolute dream project because it pushed us all into thinking outside the box for solutions." This is despite a condensed construction schedule that Aquicon Construction and the sub- trades had to abide by. To take one example, the triangu- lar shape of the structure meant that WSP and Aquicon had to be inventive in the alignment of frames and depths of beams. "There was no easy grid system to fall back on, and this building required three of them," says Dionne. Also, because all of the columns were intended to be as uniformly thin as possible, some of them required additional bracing. Another challenge was the curtain wall glass being required to have a knife-edge appearance around the top perimeter of the library. "To achieve this, we had to cantilever steel framing up and over the curtain wall to provide framing for the glass," says Dionne. The architects also wanted space between the curtain wall and the sup- porting columns, "so the main roof structure cantilevered out a little over five feet from the edge of the plate to the columns," says Dionne. "Meanwhile, in the interior, the ceiling geometry is convex, while the exterior roof has a pyra- midal shape; this obliged us to consider several supporting techniques and finally settle on using trussed arches – whose geometry was tricky to determine." Ng's landscaping solutions were equally innovative. "For example, in cre- ating the play area we and RDHA tried not to rely exclusively onto traditional elements like swings and slides and instead created a series of berms and other components that would encourage children to explore," he says. "Also scat- tered through this area are large letters that children learning to read will even- tually determine spells 'Imagine.'" Ng also helped RDHA delineate the interior of the library and the exte- rior with features such as a courtyard water element, whose flow subtly leads library users from indoors to outdoors as well as provides children with an interactive experience. A FM36126.indd 1 2018-05-16 2:54

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