Chicago begins its history with public libraries after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. Encouraged by the Britain Parliament, people of Chicago earned the right for free public libraries and the establishment of the Chicago Public Library in 1872. Now, the Chicago Public Library (CPL) has 80 branches around the city, and the newest one is the Chinatown Branch Library, opened in 2015 and designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in collaboration with Wight & Company and the Public Building Commission of Chicago (PBC). The Chinatown Branch Library was designed to be a reflection of the community where it is insert, a place that express the sympathy for the culture and the surrounding space. This new library became a symbol of what can be the next
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For too long, the Chicago Public Library had standardized plans that saved money and kept their efficiency. But nowadays people expects spaces with singularities, spaces that express the diverse and connected world where we live. To change the standard existent vision, the PBC had help of a committee formed by librarians and community stakeholders, the last ones principally from the Chinatown community. It was noticed that the last Chinatown library was one of the most visited of the 80 other branches that composes the Chicago Public Library system. Therefore, it was extremely important the community participation at the goals' development for this project and its design process. As a result, it is possible to see today that the Chinatown Branch Library is not just a place where people go to simply find access to an encyclopedic knowledge. It became a community space that calls citizens and allows the connection with people, ideas and inclusive …show more content…
At this point it is clear that this project was designed to achieve and explore a new path in the Chicago public libraries' construction, but that cannot excludes what most all buildings these days has been looking to be. The search of being sustainable, ecologically correct, and green efficient is one of the important aspects of this project. Between the many sustainable features presents in this building, there is a radiant cooling and heating that improves the building’s energy efficiency and it supports the health and comfort of the library. The radiant system also permits the glass curtain wall to be transparent to the maximum without giving up the building’s performance. Other feature is in the facade, promoted by the existence of a solar shading screen integrated into the glass curtain wall that decreases the heat gain without compromising the views from inside the building to the neighborhood and reduces light brightness into the
For too long, the Chicago Public Library had standardized plans that saved money and kept their efficiency. But nowadays people expects spaces with singularities, spaces that express the diverse and connected world where we live. To change the standard existent vision, the PBC had help of a committee formed by librarians and community stakeholders, the last ones principally from the Chinatown community. It was noticed that the last Chinatown library was one of the most visited of the 80 other branches that composes the Chicago Public Library system. Therefore, it was extremely important the community participation at the goals' development for this project and its design process. As a result, it is possible to see today that the Chinatown Branch Library is not just a place where people go to simply find access to an encyclopedic knowledge. It became a community space that calls citizens and allows the connection with people, ideas and inclusive …show more content…
At this point it is clear that this project was designed to achieve and explore a new path in the Chicago public libraries' construction, but that cannot excludes what most all buildings these days has been looking to be. The search of being sustainable, ecologically correct, and green efficient is one of the important aspects of this project. Between the many sustainable features presents in this building, there is a radiant cooling and heating that improves the building’s energy efficiency and it supports the health and comfort of the library. The radiant system also permits the glass curtain wall to be transparent to the maximum without giving up the building’s performance. Other feature is in the facade, promoted by the existence of a solar shading screen integrated into the glass curtain wall that decreases the heat gain without compromising the views from inside the building to the neighborhood and reduces light brightness into the