The New Libraries

No Shushing, Please

The new libraries aren't just “book temples,” but stunning spaces for designers, robot handlers–and tourists

Michael Fraiman | September 24, 2015

At the end of this month, Calgary will break ground on a $245-million, 240,000-sq-ft. library in the East Village, a former industrial neighbourhood being groomed for revitalization. It’s the city’s most expensive, largest-scale undertaking in decades: Its glassy blue-grey facade, resembling a canoe-cum-spaceship, careens over a curving light-rail track, luring in pedestrians with an outdoor café and transparent theatre space. It will house 600,000 books, a technology commons, an innovation lab and $2 million in public art initiatives.

Danish partner Schmidt Hammer Lassen has designed similar structures in Europe. Source: http://articles.macleans.ca/no-shushing-please/

B.C.’s second largest credit union has signed a contract with PCI Developments Corp. for the construction and leasing of about 70 per cent of the approximately 180,000 square foot, nine-story property, with a targeted late 2015 completion date. Coast Capital’s “Help Headquarters”, as the new head office will be known, will join buildings like the Central City Tower and City Centre Library that have established Surrey as the home for some of the province’s most groundbreaking modern architecture and an attractive location for businesses. Source: http://thehubkgs.com/coast-capitals-new-head-office-to-boost-surrey-city-centre-revitalization/

<more at http://articles.macleans.ca/no-shushing-please/; related links: http://thehubkgs.com/coast-capitals-new-head-office-to-boost-surrey-city-centre-revitalization/ (Coast Capital’s new head office to boost Surrey City Centre revitalization. Iconic design of credit union’s headquarters will add to dynamic City Centre and re-define work culture. January 14, 2013) and http://www.salex.ca/projects/fort-york-public-library (Fort York Public Library)>