Book club

From a library shaped like a ship to a requests for green space, the Central Library architects want your ideas.

by Holly Gordon

On the morning of June 10, the Spring Garden Road Library's front sidewalk is awash in chalked colour. Shooting stars and flying books lead the way to the steps, and at the end of the mural is an invitation to that night's public consultation in Dalhousie's McInnes room---asking for ideas to form the soon-to-be Halifax Central Library.

Inside the library sit the two lead architects for the Central Library, George Cotaras from local firm Fowler Bauld & Mitchell, and Morten Schmidt from Danish firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen. The partnered firms won the job of designing and constructing the Central Library earlier this year---FBM brings its local expertise, and SHL brings its experience in international library projects. That night's public consultation kicks off the first of five public meetings this year to collect ideas of what citizens want for the long-awaited library.

"The library's going to be a building in this city that will transform a lot of the things," says Schmidt. "No doubt, it will be a unique building that will connect to the city...this one [Spring Garden Library] does not have that ability."

Schmidt, who's hosted a number of public consultations, is looking forward to hearing what HRM's public has to say. "It's very interesting to go through these processes because they can come up with very good ideas that you haven't really thought of. We, as architects, are facilitating that whole thing, and we'll of course be able to pull these ideas together in one big idea."

"We can't possibly incorporate everybody's individual ideas, but it'll be the collective," Cotaras quickly adds.

Later, at the consultation, approximately 250 people show up to have their voices heard. Members of Symphony Nova Scotia play while attendees fill the tables. Through the course of the next two hours, people in the McInnes Room will answer: What's your best experience of a building as a public space? What could the library give to the municipality, and the municipality to the library? What is your big idea?

In the basement of the Spring Garden Library that morning, Cotaras explains they are looking for three or four major themes they can use to start designing. Schmidt has had some bad experiences with public consultation, but only when a building's design has already been approved by the time a consultation is held. In the Central Library's case, nothing has been designed.

The 250 members of the public are hesitant, though. Whether it's because they're a bit nervous to say the wrong thing, or they're just unsure how to say it, it takes some time before anyone will voluntarily answer a question. Suggestions of a library that reflects Halifax's history are frequent---as is that it be shaped like a ship. At the end of the night, the brainstorming whiteboard with Post-Its is filled with ideas that include "hub," "flexible space," "awe-inspiring architecture," "green" and "multicultural"---ideas the architects have said are on their minds.

Cotaras and Schmidt say a LEED gold standard is what they're aiming for, and the creation of a landmark building is a given. The next two meetings will narrow down the questions---targeting interior and exterior spaces---with a preliminary concept design, and a more developed design to be presented at the last two meetings.

Asked if they're nervous about meeting public expectation, both laugh. "Not at all," says Schmidt. "We know we have big shoulders. We'll carry it," finishes Cotaras.

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Hi Beverly: Glad you attended the meeting - thanks for coming out!

To clarify: the purpose of these public gatherings is to tap into the collective wisdom of our community to inform the design of the library. It is not to give anyone a soapbox to describe in detail their own wants and desires. I would suggest that is a "hackneyed, over-utilized" format.

World Cafe format is a very helpful tool to surface themes that are important to everyone - the library is a public commons, not for any one person to control or own. At this point, themes were very helpful for the architects. There are 4 more public gatherings over the next few months - different questions / conversation tools will be used for each, depending on what stage the design process is at.

I do ask that you contact library staff or myself with SUGGESTIONS on how we could improve our methods of gaining collective wisdom from the many people who care passionately about the library. We are open!! We are doing our best and realize things can always be better. Help us!

Whether or not you feel you had a chance to say your points 1) and 2) above - such senitments are included in our discussions and reporting to the architects (who were in the room to hear, anyway!). Perhaps your own opinions are quite in unison with the collective wisdom of people in Halifax!

Hope to see you next time :)

Posted by carolined on June 25, 2010 at 10:25 AM | Report this comment

Oh, YUCK - shaped like a ship? Sure, let's make it a giant Theodore Tugboat. *Great* idea!

What we really need is a first-class library that looks like a first-class library. Full stop. We don't need a library that looks like a tourist trap. Actually, we might want to attract tourists - come in, relax, maybe check their e-mail - but the "icon" of it should be "holy crap, look at this AWESOME library - the best public library east of Quebec City". (this is a subjective judgment, but I'm all for cultivating it should this go well)

But when people are not dismissing out of hand the notion of making it look like a ship, I worry. I can't think of anything tackier or more ridiculous. If you want to have a sea mural somewhere, OK, but let's leave it at that.

Posted by willmatheson on June 19, 2010 at 1:52 AM | Report this comment

What is unknown is the number of persons sitting at the tables who were employees of the library, the architects or the consultants.
It was only when I asked an individual what they did and where they lived that I discovered the person was an employee of a company engaged in the project. No names, to identifier tags.
At that point I wondered if we were being steered in a certain direction and if the situation was in play at other tables.

Posted by Joeblow on June 17, 2010 at 6:51 PM | Report this comment

Actually, I am not sure they do want our ideas. The format of the session at the Dal SUB on June 10 used the hackneyed, over-utilized world cafe format where no one actually gets to tell the consultants anything. Most ideas get lost in the amalgamation of 'table reports' so the result of the June 10 session was such earth shattering ideas as, it should be accessible, bright, airy, etc. Duh! Surely, the architects could have figured that out for themselves without involving 250 people, none of whom actually got to say anything. So...be warned. If you go to future sessions thinking you have an idea that someone will listen to and record...forget it. The upside is that you might meet some interesting people at your table sessions.
What I would have said if I'd had the chance: Give us an icon if you will but please make sure 1) the architecture says something about Halifax and Nova Scotia instead of looking like the latest luxury hotel in Dubai and 2) give us something that won't be obselete in 25 years or needing repairs almost as soon as it opens. We are presently being told Dalhousie's 30 year old Dalplex has to be replaced, the Convention Centre at 26 years old allegedly needs replacing, and a couple of years ago the newspapers were reporting that the +/- 25 year old Joe Howe office building needed extensive repairs or would have to be demolished! Reportedly, the new, much-vaunted addition to the Art Gallery of Ontario has structural problems. We cannot/should not go on building stuff that needs to be amost immediately repaired and/or replaced/demolished in 25 years; it is morally, ecologically and financially irresponsible. Give us a bulding we can be proud of, that we can be comfortable in, that we can relate to and that will serve us well for a long time.

Posted by beverly miller on June 17, 2010 at 5:15 PM | Report this comment