extroverted labyrinth: the new metropolitan library as

The New Metropolitan Library as...

EXTROVERTEDLABYRINTH

labyrinth, infrastructure, coalescence, production, archive, node, destination


...a node of coalescence - a structure that plugs into the complex layers of the city’s infrastructure as a way to engage the way these layers pass over one

another without any point of collision

...an index of the city - an interactive archive of data and prodcution specifically about the city in which direct and implied connections drive its organization

...a labyrinth - a spatial realization of how the need for particular modules of program and the interface with informational space converges to become the

logic behind the experiential qualities of the space

THESIS


ThesisThe New Metropolitan Library as...

labyrinth of index and infrastructures where library is (re)defined as center of production rather than mere storage facility

labyrinth (n)

a complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one's way; a maze:an intricate and confusing arrange-ment:

library (n)

a building or room containing collec-tions of books, peri-odicals, and some-times films and recorded music for people to read , borrow, or refer to;organized system-atically and kept for research or borrow-ing

infrastructure (n)

the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g., buildings, roads, and power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enter-prise

information (n)

facts provided or learned about something or some-one;what is conveyed or represented by a particular arrange-ment or sequence of things

partition (n)

the action or state of dividing or being divided into parts;a structure dividing a space into two parts , especially a light interior wall

network (n)

an arrangement of i n t e r s e c t i n g horizontal and verti-cal lines;a group or system of interconnected people or things

media (n)

an agency or means of doing something;a means by which something is com-municated or expressed;a particular form of storage for digitized information, such as magnetic tape or discs

All defintions from Oxford English Diction-ary

The labyrinth as imagined by Umberto Eco, The Name of The Rose

Library as Infrastructure

Traditionally, the library has been considered as a glorified storage facility, a collection of materials organized for curation and reference. Inherent in the library model, however, is the necessity for infrastructure as a way to understand and map relationships between sets of information. However, while this organizational structure is currently present in the way the library’s content is laid out, it has yet to be intgrated and reflected in the architecture itself. What if this infrastructural heirarchy could begin to push back against its container? What if it could reshape the library’s physical layout so that the occupant begins to feel and under-stand it through the spatial experience? In this way, the new metropolitan library begins to become less about a container for information and moe about beginning to map the com-plex series of relationships between the information it contains. As these levels of informa-tional matrices begin to layer upon one another, the space begins to take on higher levels of intracacy - an infrastructural labyrinth.

Site as Content? Redefining Information and Media

Another limiting factor in the design of the modern library is how we define the term library as well as the term media. If the libary continues to be conceptualized as a container for media, then its site and context have little to no bearing on the building itself. What if the complex layers of infratructure that pre-exist in the urban environment began to inform another layer of complexity and labyrinthian quality to the space? Can the contextual framework of the building act as another form of information that begins to culturally and socially ground the infortmation practices within the building in the urban landscape around it. This is why Chicago was chosen for the site of this model of the New Metropolitan Library; it is a city that already has multiple infrastructures and hidden layers in place that could begin to be reflected in the complexity of the libary’s labyrinth.

Urban Layers: Chicago as a Labyrinth

Like in any tyical urban environment, a complex network of infrastructures is constantly being maintained in order to keep the entire city afloat. However, this complexity is further enhanced when examining Chicago from a historical perspective. The city was constructed over swampland which had to be cleared and backfilled. As a result, the city gained a unique character of a dual layered format. Certain areas of the city actually sit on top of a second, lower layer: streets have upper and lower designations, traffic patterns are diverted, etc. The peculiar thing about this aspect of the city is how well this fact is hidden; aside from a few staircases scattered throughout the urban fabic, few visitors are consistently aware of the world underneath them, as its organizational logic is hidden by the urban plan in a very labyrinthian idea. This system, layered with the numerous other infrastructures such as the elevated public transit system , utilities, public parks, the city’s relationship with the river, and highways begin to inform a different rhizomatic labyrinth that could be applied to the con-textual relationship between the New Metropolitan Library and its site.

Static versus Integrated? A Library of Production over Absorption

A last concern with redefining and changing the libary model is the implied static relation-ship between the occupant and the information absorption process. The idea of research implies an end goal: that something new will be created as a result of the absorbed informa-tion. What if the New Metropolitan Library could begin to facilitate a location where the results of research could begin to be presented and shared in an open collaborative envi-ronment, rather than focusing on the indivdual absorption of media? The labyrinthian formal language and the urban context of Chicago would only further serve to promote this; the library would begin to become a place where the history of media and the city is main-tained and honored, while the forward progress of research and the urban environment is not only encouraged, it is on display to everyone.

Library as Labyrinth

Labyrinth by its very definition is a network, implying a logic that usually attempts to remain hidden; it requires active engagement by the occupant to begin to understand its intracate underpinnings. However, as a formal strategy, confusing intracacy and hidden logics remain arbitrary practice if it lacks reason. If the complex network were to begin to arise as an attempt to physically and spatially map informational conditions, on the other hand, the reasons for the building’s labyrinthian quality, while not immediately apparent, would begin to take on a certain level of value in helping the occupants’ understanding of the library’s contents.

Hidden or Transparent? The New Metropolitan Labyrinth

One of the issues in beginning to consider a space as a labyrinth is the connotations of the term and the images conjured up. Historic labyrinths are described as massive stone mazes, whose layout hides its logical base through physical barriers and controlled views. Howeve, perhaps this model of the labyrinth is as outdated as the current library model. What if the labyrinth could partition space to control circulatory and experiential aspects of the space, while not blocking the visual qualities. What if the labyrinth could be shaped through materi-ality and levels of transparency rather than solid opaque partitions? After all, labyrinthian qualities can begin to emerge simply through controlled circulation and repeated elements, so long as these moments are driven by the complexity of the infrastructural framework.


...a library of Chicago - a resource that not only in-dexes and archives the historical and present condi-tions of the city, but serves as a network where new production drawing from its content gets reintro-duced as an organic, changing system that taps into

the city’s existing library infrastructure

...a focal point - a structure situated at a point of physical overlap for the city’s infrastructure

SITE


SiteThe New Metropolitan Library in...

Chicago, a dual-layered urban fabric whose network of infrastructures creates a labyrinthian language

site (n)

an area of ground on which a town, building, or monu-ment is con-structed;a place where a particular event or activity is occurring or has occurred

context (n)

the circumstances that form the setting for an event, state-ment, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully under-stood and assessed;c o n s i d e r e d together with the surrounding words or circumstances

layer (n)

a level of seniority in the hierarchy of an organization;a shoot fastened down to take root while attached to the parent plant


Graphical Representations of different infrastructural layers in Chicago

Urban Condition as Labyrinth

A labyrinth by definition is a confusing spatial condition brought about by a network of logics that tend to be hidden from the occupant. One could argue that this also describes the urban condition; even when one begins to think they comprehend the logic behind the city’s infrastructure, there is no way they could possibly understand the full extent and inter-connectivity of the entire fabric. In a simila fashion, it is also interesting to note that most visitors first ariving in a city, tend to find themselves easily lost - a further characteristic shared with the labyrinthian model. It would seem, then, that an iconic urban environment and its complex infrastructural network would provide the perfect site for a New Metropolitan Library model that seeks to architecturally reflect these relationships within its formal language of the labyrinth.

Organized Chaos: Creating an Extroveted Labyrinthian Model

If the labyrinthian model is to be introduced as a formal language to begin to shape the contextual and infrastructural relationships within and outside of the building, then the term labyrinth must again be redefined. A major issue with the traditional labyrinth is its tendency to be extremely introverted; that is, the occupant’s disorientation is maintained through opaque material choices and a strict control over what is shown of the space’s context. While experientially intriguing to a degree, this type of labyrinth could be placed anywhere and has little to no negotiation with its site - something arguably extremely unhealthy for a metropolitan library in an urban condition. The New Metropolitan Labyrinth, then, must seek to become extroverted; it must organize itself in a way that disorients the occupant only so far as it aligns with infrastructural and contextual cues and networks. In this way, the identity as a labyrinth is maintained, while the disorientation takes on a purpose. The occupant is only disoriented because the spaces are not linked in an expected manner; however, by exploring and engaging the spaces, the logic behind the organizational structure is gradu-ally revealed as the occupants’ movement through and interaction with the space begins to physically map out these relationships.

Formal Lenses: Mapping Chicago / Media to Derive Form

How then can form begin to be derived from a conceptual labyrinth of infrastructures? As a preliminary formal exercise, it is valuable to begin to look a different mapping techniques to see how different infrastructural conditions within the bounds of Chicago have begun to be visualized. By treasting each of these graphic representations of the city as different lenses with which to view the cities various conditions, patterns of nodes and interconnectiv-ity can begin to be derived and understood. By doing the same with not only the city but current informational databases, these formal representations of conceptual relationships begin to drive ideas of circulation and form within the library’s form. While greater control must be applied later on in order to maintain authorship and stance within the newly extro-verted labyrinth, these formal realizations create a solid basis upon which the labyrinth can begin to be formed.

SiteThe New Metropolitan Library as...

integration, simultaneously acting as an index of the city (past and present) and as connec-tion between occupant and infrastructure

integration (n)

combine (one thing ) with another so that they become a whole;come into equal participation in or membership of society or an institu-tion or body

mediation (n)

bring about (an agreement or solu-tion) by intervening in a dispute;form a connecting link between;be a means of con-veying

tension (n)

a strained state or condition resulting from forces acting in opposition to each other;a relationship between ideas or qualities with con-flicting demands or implications

All defintions from Oxford English Diction-ary One of the few PEDWAY Maps in existence

Central Public Libary Locations Downtown

One of many unmarked pedway entrances

Proposed SIte - Pedway Overlay + Extents Representing Infrastructural Layered Zone Along the River

Site as Mediation

The specific site at the corner of E Lake and Stetson Avenue was chosen for a numbe of reasons. For one, the site sits at the focal point of a number of the branches of the disjointed layout of the underused and subterranean Chicago Pedway. It also sits at the edge of the area of the city where the plane of the street begins to layer upon itself, allowing for the multiple networks of traffic and infrastructure to begin to become legible and tied to the site’s footprint. The site also situates itself between the other two central branches of the library downtown, as well as being located a short distance from the river’s main inlet to the city. Both symbolically and physically, this site acts as focal point for beginning to manifest and index the different levels of infrastucture and information present in the city.

Site as Infrastructural

The complex history and present disjointed condition of the Chicago Pedway serves as a prime friction point for the New Metropolitan Library to begin to plug-in to the various physi-cal and conceptual levels of the city’s infrastructure and serve as a point where these sepa-rate systems can begin to coalesce in a labyrinthian form driven by both the layered infra-structural construct of the overall city and the city-specific collections that the library attempts to curate. As the extroverted labyrinth begins to twist and fold around itself, the multiple levels of the city can serve as nodes of physical and relational interaction as the building situates itself above and below the various street levels. In the same spirit, the library can begin to serve as a gathering point for the pedway as a way to begin to call attention to and foster use of the system as more than just a temporary and static means of escape from inclement weather. This network can also act as another level of entry/exit from the space at the lower levels and begin to interact with its occupants. This strange subterranean world remains mainly a utilitarian space indexed only by citizen-created internet guides and, in one case, a pub crawl for the small number of restaurants that are hidden at this level. Through the site’s relation to these various levels of the city and the collections the library curates, the building will hopefully begin to provide some insight into the city’s overall organi-zation and an understanding of the relationships between these various systems and how they wok as a sum of parts, while retaining an awareness of the rich cultural and historical roots that make up Chicago’s identity.

Site

Site - Corner of Lake and Stetson

Square Footage - ~49,500 ft²

Number of Levels Below Street Level - 2

The site offers multiple points of entry and exit of both vehicular and pedestrian traffic, as well as natural gradient of light transmit-tance due to its situation above and below the street datum. These oppurtunities begin to create physical nodes around which the labyrinth can begin to construct itself.

The New Metropolitan Library as...anchored to the layered city

Site

Site

Surface Streets

Sublevel Streets

Pedway Paths

The New Metropolitan Library as...layers of infrastructure that overlap and slip past one another with little interaction or atten-tion

The Subterranean World: Site as Layered

Much of the site’s potential in relating to the city lies at its capacity for it to begin to tap into the city’s networks at multiple levels. The building’s footprint sits at a location that penetrates 2-3 layers underground, interacting with city at not only street level, but at the secondary level of roads as well. It also focuses itself at a location where multiple terminal nodes of the little acknowledged Chicago Pedway, offering an oppurtunity for the library to not only draw these paths into the building, but also to make these paths accessible and at higher level of public awareness by creating entry and exit points at each of these levels. This also serves to reinforce the continuous circulatory paths of the library, as well as the labyrinthian aspects in its capacity to push and pull occupants through multiple access points.


...an infrastructure of information - a controlled net-work of recpetors and nodes of information input and output that organically grows and changes through

use by the library’s patrons

...an examination of the city - a city-wide resource that begins to engage hidden levels of how the city works through not only the collections but through

adjacency

RESEARCH


Organization + Research

“Dead Drops” - Integrating Infrastructure as Production and Orientation

Artist Aram Bartholl created a series of installations in New York City where he embe-ded USB flash drives into vertical surfaces throughout the city as a way to create zones where people can drop files they have created and view other people’s files as a spatial realization of the first physical peer-to-peer network at a city scale. This could be a valuable aspect to be able consider as a level of the New Metropolitan Library’s infrastructure where occupants can begin to not only access the digital network of the building’s archive but begin to upload thei own work based off the research they’ve done using the building’s content. In this framework, the library takes on a new role as a place of production where the work done within it is not simply created then removed with no interaction, but is entered back into the infor-mation network as a way to index the work and reshape and enhance the collec-tion. As a further aspect of this infrastructural level of the library, these receptors scattered throughout the building can begin to orient the user as to where they are located within the building and where they need to start to head to get physically to access the information they need, be it analog or digital.

Beginning to map how these zones of receptors begin to emerge from the heirarchy of the labyrinth as a further infrastructural level

““

Research + ContextSubterranean City: A Tour of Chicago’s Pedway

A citizen-guided narrative walking through the subterranean world of the Chicago Pedway

by Alice Maggio (http://www.gapersblock.com/detour/subterranean_city_a_tour_of_chicagos_pedway_part_1/)

The Pedway is often called Chicago's secret weapon against the elements. Made up of a combination of under-ground tunnels, concourses and overhead skyway bridges, the pedestrian walkway network provides shelter from all types of inclement weather in and around the Loop. Laid end to end, the Pedway stretches nearly 40 city blocks, but the network is not completely interconnected. Instead, it consists of two major sections. The first, and largest, section connects over two dozen city, office and commercial buildings in the Loop while also providing access to CTA and Metra train stations. The second major section links several buildings east of Michigan Avenue, just south of the Chicago River. Currently, one can walk from the James R. Thompson Center to Marshall Field's, the Cultural Center and over to the Prudential Plaza without ever having to step outside. Development of the Pedway began in 1951 when the city built the one-block tunnels between State and Dearborn connecting the Red and Blue Line CTA stations at both the Washington and Jackson stops. Over the following decades, the Pedway grew haphazardly as both the city and private developers expanded the system, and even today the network continues to grow and be improved. As a result of its unsystematic construction, the Pedway lacks design uniformity, and every section of the network has its own unique characteristics. The lack of systematic organization, however, also means the Pedway can be difficult to navigate or even locate. When people call it the city's secret weapon against inclement weather, the emphasis is on "secret." Entrances to the Pedway are frequently unmarked, and signage within the system is sparse, misleading or nonexistent. To make matters worse, print maps of the Pedway are currently unavailable, and new maps will not be published until recon-struction is completed on a tunnel connecting Marshall Field's and the Cultural Center. Pedway novices need to have a sense of adventure and a little patience to be able to navigate this tangled web of tunnels, corridors, staircases and revolving doors. Follow along, then, as this tour guides you through the maze and introduces you to just some of the sights, services and shopping that can be found in this subterranean city. But, before embarking on your own Pedway adventure, be aware that while connections to the train stations are open 24 hours, access to the complete Pedway network is generally available only from 6am to 6pm. The tour begins at the Red Line CTA station at State and Washington. If you arrive by train, when you leave the train, be sure to go up the north stairs towards Randolph Street. Exit through the turnstiles. Most people hurry straight up one of the stairways to street level after exiting, but stop and observe for a moment. This El station sits squarely in the middle of the Pedway. On the east side of the station, a revolving door leads into the lower level of Marshall Field's while on the other end of the station, an arrow on the floor with the words, "West to Pedway," points towards a long underground corridorFor now, head west down the corridor (we'll visit the eastern half next week). This block-long passage is one of the two tunnels completed in 1951 that first made up the Pedway. It connects the Red Line Washington El station on State Street to the Blue Line Washington station on Dearborn and is one of the busiest sections of the Pedway. In 1995, the Chicago Department of Transportation estimated up to 20,000 people a day use this tunnel, but during the winter months that number doubles. The tunnel is unheated so it is not exactly comfortable, but at least you are protected from the wind and snow. Walk through the Blue Line CTA station at the other end of the corridor until you come to two sets of revolving doors. You have reached the Richard J. Daley Center (50 W. Washington). An open stairway on your left leads up to Dearborn Street and Daley Plaza, home of Chicago's famed Picasso sculpture. Enter the Pedway beneath the Daley Center and immediately notice this section is heated. The Daley Center is largely occupied with courts and court-related offices. The Circuit Court of Cook County occu-pies half the building with over a hundred courtrooms, and one may also find the Appellate and Illinois Supreme Court here. The Pedway beneath the Daley Center is wide, well-lit and filled with mid-morning crowds. As you enter this section, you will find a Starbucks coffee shop immediately to your right. Yes, the coffee chain that everyone loves to hate has even penetrated underground. Across the hall, Ace Shoe Clinic is doing brisk business polishing the footwear of the lawyers and city officials that dominate the Pedway crowd here. The Daley Center Pedway is also home to the large and inviting West Egg Cafe, open for breakfast and lunch. An escalator near the cafe leads up to the lobby of the Daley Center. The Pedway here splits into two branches. One corridor continues west while a second hallway now leads south. Take the hallway south and find the Traffic Court and traffic safety school on the Pedway and another stairway leading up outside to Daley Plaza.Continuing south, go through another revolving door at the end of the hall into the Pedway beneath the Cook County Administration Building (69 W. Washington). The building is home to many city and county offices. The building was temporarily vacated when a tragic fire on October 17, 2003 resulted in the deaths of six people, but the building has since been re-occupied. This section of the Pedway is more narrow and dimly-lit than the Daley Center, but several businesses and services are located down here. You will find the Early Edition newsstand and convenience store, a barber shop/nail salon and Dairy Queen. In addition, Around the Clock repairs watches, clocks and jewelry. The Pedway beneath the Cook County Administration Building also includes the super-secret Secretary of State Express Facility. Though currently closed for renovations, this facility is the place to go to get your driver's license renewed without having to wait in line.

Keep following the Pedway past the Secretary of State facility and down a short flight of steps. On your left a revolv-ing door leads to the Washington Blue Line CTA station between Washington and Madison on Dearborn. Instead, go through the revolving doors on your right and up an escalator to the street-level lobby of Three First National Plaza. Cross the lobby and stop to admire the large bronze Henry Moore sculpture. If you are feeling really ambitious, continue upstairs and locate the Skyway bridge that crosses Madison Street to One First National Plaza, home to the offices of Bank One (though maybe not for much longer). In One First National Plaza, head down to the first floor and locate the escalator in the southeast corner of the lobby. The Pedway continues down this escalator, leading to the Monroe station of the Blue Line, where this particular branch of the Pedway effectively ends. Retrace your steps back to the Daley Center and take the Pedway corridor heading west. This hallway is lined with display cases. On the south wall (your left), an exhibit presented by the Theatre Historical Society of America entitled, "Chicago Celebrates Three Centuries of Theatres," features photographs and ephemera from some of the city's most well-known theatre buildings. On the north wall, don't miss the oil stick drawings by artist Theolia Norwood executed on the flattened lids of corrugated cardboard file boxes. Pass additional stairways leading up to the east side of Daley Plaza and go through the revolving doors at the end of the hall. On your right as you pass through the door is a small concession area run by the Department of Rehabili-tation Services' Vending Facility Program for the Blind which, as the name implies, is operated by individuals who are blind. On the opposite wall, marvel at having found a map of the Pedway. Take a moment to re-orient yourself and commit the map to memory as it is one of the only ones you will encounter in the system. Now, as the Pedway appears to end here, head up the escalator. The escalator leads into the beautiful lobby of the City Hall/County Building which, although it is really one building, is treated as if it were two separate structures in order to confuse people. This monumental Classical Revival building was completed in 1911 and takes up the entire city block. City Hall occupies the west half of the building at 121 N. LaSalle, while the east half is considered the County Building at 118 N. Clark. Walk through the lobby and admire the vaulted ceilings covered with Bottocino marble, the mosaic ornamentation and relief sculptures. In the center of the lobby, notice an elevator prominently marked with a sign reading, "Pedway." Do not be tempted to take this elevator. Although it does lead to an underground corridor that connects City Hall to the Savings of America Tower across the street at 120 N. LaSalle, the passage is narrow, deserted and leaves one with the distinct feeling that "Maybe-I-Shouldn't-Be-Down-Here." Instead, walk across the lobby towards the north exit of the City Hall/County Building to find the Pedway link to the State of Illinois Center. Pass through a set of doors into the outer foyer of the building, locate the stairway to your right and descend into the next section of the Pedway. The lower level of the City Hall/County Building includes several important offices and services. An annex office of the City Clerk on the Pedway is the best place to get your passport renewed without waiting in line. You will also find the Cook County Vital Statistics office down here where you can obtain birth, marriage and death certificates. Finally, the Marriage Bureau is down the hall from the Vital Statistics office for completing applications for a marriage license and domestic partnership registration. Walk north past these offices and down the tunnel that passes under Randolph Street until you find yourself in the lower level of the State of Illinois Center, also known as the James R. Thompson Center. The Center was designed by architect Helmut Jahn and was completed in 1985; the glass and steel curvilinear structure is home to several dozen state agencies. As you enter the Thompson Center from the Pedway, a full-service Secretary of State facility is imme-diately to your left, and it is crowded as usual. You can also access the CTA Clark/Lake El station from the lower level. The vast majority of the floor, however, is occupied by the Center's food court -- cleverly named "The Great State Fare." Just about every major fast food chain is represented here, and at 11:30am the space is already filling with early lunchtime crowds. Find an empty table, take a break and do some people-watching because you have largely finished exploring the western half of the Pedway network. To continue your adventure, retrace your steps and return to Red Line El station at State and Washington where the tour began.

The Pedway is often called C h i c a g o ' s secret weapon against the elements

““

the Pedway grew haphaz-ardly as both the city and private devel-opers ex-panded the system

““

Entrances to the Pedway are frequently u n m a r k e d , and signage within the system is sparse, mis-leading or nonexistent. To make matters worse, print maps of the Pedway are currently un-available

““

Pedway can be difficult to navigate or even locate

““

As a result of its unsystematic construction, the Pedway lacks design uniformity, and every section of the network has its own unique char-acteristics

““

need to have a sense of ad-venture and a little patience to be able to navigate

Precedent + ProgramThe New Metropolitan Library as...

Old imagined by OMA; the Seattle Public Library (re)examined as a way to negotiate program constraints

program (n)

a planned series of future events, items, or performances;a set of related measures , events, or activities with a particular long-term aim

constraint (n)

a limitation or restriction;stiffness of manner and inhibition in relations between people

element (n)

a part or aspect of something abstract, especially one that is essential or char-acteristic;a small but signifi-cant presence of a feeling or abstract quality


Graphical Representations of different infrastructural layers in Chicago

(De)programming: Using Precedent as Programmatic Model

In order to fully begin to grasp the necessary programmatic elements and their relative sizes, it often becomes necessary to examine successful precedent examples that exist in similar contexts - in this case, the Seattle Public Library by OMA. This particular project was very much about establishing the spatial-conceptual link between programmatic constituents, a practice especially critical when setting out to design a labyrinth. Not only is an examination of their treatment of these relationships valuable, but so is an examination of relative square footages and volumes, as these can begin to dictate the constituents of the New Metropoli-tan Library due to a similarity of context and size. While the treatment and content of the media within might be different, the programmatic breakdown is a valuable tool in begin-ning to establish the nodes around which the labyrinth will be formed.

Site + ResearchThe New Metropolitan Library as...

integration, simultaneously acting as an index of the city (past and present) and as connec-tion between occupant and infrastructure

integration (n)

combine (one thing ) with another so that they become a whole;come into equal participation in or membership of society or an institution or body

mediation (n)

bring about (an agreement or solution) by inter-vening in a dispute;form a connecting link between;be a means of conveying

tension (n)

a strained state or condition resulting from forces acting in opposition to each other;a relationship between ideas or qualities with conflicting demands or impli-cations


Central Library Branch Locations in the Downtown Area

Jardine Water Purification Plant

Site as Mediation

The specific site of the Jardine Water Purification Plant was examined for a number of reasons. For one, it is situated on a peninsula just north of the mouth of the river, which bisects the city and acts as its anchor point. While not only close to the proposed site of the library, it also sits directly between the two central library branches located in the downtown area, allowing for a natural juxtaposition with the spatialization of Chicago’s Public Library program. This site also is positioned near cultural landmarks such as Navy Pier, the lakefront parks, and the riverwalk. Since the river acts to divide the city into northern ans southern halves, the site also is a perfect collection point between the two.

Site as Infrastructural

The Jardine Water Purification Plant also affords an opportunity for the library to more fully engage the city in its new identity as a labyrinth of infrastructures. The current location of plant is somewhat odd due to its proximity to more culturally important sites around the city and its unsuccessful attempts to disguise itself as public landmark through the implementa-tion of a small park at its western end. By locating the library nearby, the character of the site begins to change by calling attention to its character as being engaged and public rather than utilitarian and private. The library also begins to provide information about the city’s infratructure itself by providing a frame through which a major process can be viewed - in this case, the treatment of the city’s water supply. The building can also possi-bly begin to generate some of its energy using any thermal and hydraulic biproducts of the purification process, leading to a closer integration between the library and the city’s infrastructure.

Quick Facts - Jardine Water Plant

The Jardine Water purification plant acts as one of two main plants supply-ing water to the city. It consists of two large basins (roughly the size of a football field) and a central treatment area which slowly pumps and treats the water as its taken in from the lake over a seven hour period. It processes around one billion gallons of water on any given day.

The New Metropolitan Library IS...

...a node of coalescence - a structure that plugs into the complex layers of the city’s infrastructure as a way to engage the way these layers pass over one

another without any point of collision

...an index of the city - an interactive archive of data and prodcution specifically about the city in which direct and implied connections drive its organization

...a labyrinth - a spatial realization of how the need for particular modules of program and the interface with informational space converges to become the

logic behind the experiential qualities of the space

ORGANIZATION


Organization + ProgramThe New Metropolitan Library as...

a labyrinth of programs dictated by the history of the city and the future production of both digital and analog media

integration (n)

combine (one thing ) with another so that they become a whole;come into equal participation in or membership of society or an institu-tion or body

mediation (n)

bring about (an agreement or solu-tion) by intervening in a dispute;form a connecting link between;be a means of con-veying

tension (n)

a strained state or condition resulting from forces acting in opposition to each other;a relationship between ideas or qualities with con-flicting demands or implications


Programmatic Elements

As prescribed by previous variations on the modern library model and new interests based on the context of new forms of media and the city as a subject, the New Metropolitan Library would need to include: - Reading Room(s) - Auditorium(s) - Digital Workspaces - Acoustic Performance Spaces - Sound Booths - Stacks / Book Collection area - Reference / Help Desks - Private Study Areas (Carrells) - Classrooms / Computer Labs for digital search instruction - Galleries - Small Theaters - Exposition of the Pedway - Main Atrium / Gathering Space (Spine?)

Organizational Logic - Infrastructure of the Library

Based on studies and understanding of the labyinth, much of its experiential maze begins to arise from a layout that loops in on itself or a return to a central space from which program-matic elements would tangentially pull away from and loop through. This allows for an orga-nization of program that is grouped based on relationship of content while still remaining interconnected through its tie to a central spinal space(s), be it a large gathering area, reading room, or reference area. A debate that begins to arise from this is the verticality vesus horizontality of this configuration: does this want to act as a taller building that ties to the urban character of the city, or become more landscape like with vertical moves and layering in section, taking cues from the infrastructural logic of the city? Based on the con-text of the site chosen, the vertical orientation makes more sense as it allows the library to engage the multiple levels that intersect at the site and allows the relational complexity of the labyrinth of collections begin to interact with the public spaces within and the city as a whole. The interaction of the multiple street levels and the various terminals of the pedway also create a new layer of infrastructure for the library in creating nodes where the labyrin-thian layout begins and connects through. This allows a more network-like set of connec-tions to begin to avoid the connotations of the maze, while taking care not become too interconnected as to lean towards the rhizomatic, detracting from the experiential mapping of the relations between collections.

READING ROOM ATRIUM

AUDITORIUM

THEATERGALLERY

ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE SPACES

CLASSROOMS DIGITAL WORKSPACES

STACKS / COLLECTIONS

INFO DESKS

CARRELS

DRAFTING AREAS CONFERENCE ROOMS

SOUND BOOTHS

EXTROVERTED

INTROVERTED

Organization + Process

Programming as Process

Design as a process has always been something of interest in terms of documenting the various methods, ways of thinking, and iterations the organization of a design goes through, especially in its early stages. Therefore, it becomes valuable to not only document more ‘finished’ organizational diagrams, but also notebook sketches that aid in the though process as well.

Organization + Process

Organization + Research

Understanding the Labyrinth- The Spatial Syntax of Human Movement Through Space

Sam McElhinney’s article entitled The Switching Labyrinth begins to dissect thecon-cept of the labyrinth’s organizational structure, as well as the differentiation between labyrinth and maze. As discussed in the article,

“A path system can be multicursal: a network of interconnecting routes, intended to disorient even the cunning. It may contain multiple branches and dead ends,

specifically designed to confuse the occupant. This is a maze.

Alternatively, a path can form a single, monocursal route. Once embarked upon, this may fold, twist and turn, but will remain a constant and ultimately reach a

destination; this is a labyrinth.

The experience of walking these two topologies is very different”

McElhinney postulates, then, that the interest and tension in the organization of the labyrinth arises when these conditions coexist and switch through the experience of the occupant; basically, when the occupant switches back and forth between being aware and ignorant of the logic of the path. While he addressed this by designing a labyrinth whose layout changes based on the occupants’ movement, this organizational spirit is important in concieving the library’s layout based on programmatic constraints.

Organization + Program

Mapping the Labyrinth - Letting Systemic Complexity Emerge From Program - Con-tent Relationships

The difficulty in the creation of the labyrinth is that it must emerge organically from the constraints, parameters, and relationships dictated by the project’s intentions and program. The inherent collisions and complexity of the labyrinthian system is especially important in the layout of the New Chicago Metropolitan Library due to the city’s layering of infrastructures that just slip past each other without any tension or collision occuring. As way to begin to engage and call attention to these networks, a certain amount of connections and unexpected relationships need to begin to emerge as the library acts as a point of coalescence. The labyrinth para-digm has a capacity to perform each of these functions as long as it ties carefully to the parametric constraints of the library’s program. In beginning to consider this, two conditions need to be identified that are both essential to the labyrinth para-digm and applicable as classification for the programmatic spaces of the building. First is the monolinear, twisting path, which evokes the maze-like experiential quali-ties of the space. These can begin to house the introverted spaces dictated by the program; the stacks, the private study areas, the programmatic spaces of the build-ing that are more tailored to the individual. At the same time, these branches begin to coalesce into larger, expanded nodes where the paths can converge before separating again. The spaces serve to both orient the occupant to a degree as well as confuse by splitting again. The convergent qualities of this condition can begin to facilitate the extroverted conditioned spaces; the reading rooms, auditoriums, the programmed spaces that are more about the collective. By recognizing how these conditions are tied to the program and recognizing the emergent relation-ships that the spaces can begin to physically map, a number of labyrinthian layouts can begin to be applied to the library’s layout.

Mapping the Network - Program

As shown at the right, no matter what the geometric layout of the labyrinth, so long as it maintains its monolinear nature where all paths reach the same goal eventu-ally, this idea of emergent spaces tied to extroverted program will naturally begin to occur. While this has been applied to a simply generated layout in this example, a framework of oppurtunities for introverted/extroverted spaces and programmatic adjacencies has already been put in place. The level of control and authorship necessary, then, begins to occur through a very careful and systematic mapping of programmatic relationship, as begins to happen on the following page. Another important exercise is to begin to recognize movement patterns the occupant might take based on the way it is partitioned and identifying how this can be used in programming. For example,

If the pattern is circulation around a geometric partition,this lends itself to an archival module, such as stacks or digital collection

If the space is emergent, where the occupant tends to return to the space,this lends itself to extroverted space, such as a reading room or conference area

By begining to identify an establish these conditions as rules of engagement, the labyrinth of the library is more controlled, and is very much reactive to the occupant and the content, rather than being prone to arbitration.

Extroverted

Extroverted

Extroverted

Extroverted

Emergent

Emergent

Emergent

Emergent

Introverted

Introverted

Introverted

Introverted

STACKS

STACKS

STACKS

STACKS

DIGITAL WORK-SPACE

CLASSROOM

REFERENCE DESK

READING ROOM

PROJECT RECEPTOR

PROJECT RECEPTOR

PROJECT RECEPTOR

PROJECT RECEPTOR

STUDY AREA


READING ROOM

ATRIUM

AUDITORIUM

THEATER

GALLERY


REA

DIN

G R

OO

M

ATR

IUM

AUDITORIUM

THEATER

GALLERY

ACO

USTIC PERFO

RMANC

E SPACES

CLASSROOMS

DIGITAL WORKSPACES


INFO DESKS

CARRELS

DRAFTING AREAS

CONFERENCE ROOMS

SOUND BOOTHS

CLA

SSRO

OM

S

DIG

ITAL W

OR

KSPAC

ES

STAC

KS / CO

LLECTIO

NS

INFO

DESKS

CA

RR

ELS

DR

AFTIN

G A

REA

S

CO

NFER

ENC

E RO

OM

S

SOU

ND

BOO

THS

EXTROVERTED INTROVERTED

The Library’s Code - Establishing the Rules of the Labyrinth

Level One: Individual Spaces + Adjacencies

By placing the programmed spaces into one of the two established categories of extroverted or introverted, spatial relationships can begin to be drawn between them as governed by their programmatic relationships. In this case, the relationships are placed in one of three categories: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary relationships refer to those that are most directly linked, wither through program-matic similrity or direct use- these spatial adjacnecies are given the highest priority. Seconday relationships are those that have some relationship to one another in use, though perhaps not in each spaces primary program; these adjacencies are impor-tant, but will not take precedence over a primary relationship. Tertiary relationships are those that one could forsee an occupant with a given goal using, though this may be as simple as circulating through, to a very temporary type of use. This thir level will try and be implemented as much as possible, without sacrificing the needs of the first two levels. By strictly using these parameters as a code of adjacency, authorship and dictation of where emergent space begins to occur can be main-tained.

Level Two: Programmatic Zones + Dichotomies

Another lens through wihich the spatialization of the labyrinth begins to be con-cieved within the library is through the identification of certain conditional dichoto-mies that exist onsite. By indexing these polar conditions and beginning to assign each program module a placement on a gradient between the two, the modules can be divided into zones which can guide their overall placement at the scale of the building vertically. By integrating and comparing this code of gradients with Level One’s code of adjacencies, a heirarchical index begins to emerge and the

complex system of the labyrinth’s logic begins to take shape.

Light Light Transmittance DarkLoose Enivronmental Control TightEmergent Spatial Category CoreAbove Street

ZONE ONE ZONE TWO ZONE THREE

Relative Location Below Street


Level Three: Spatial Types + Vertical Logic

Taking these first two levels of code as law, a third most scaled out level begins to take control as a code of spatial types. This dichotomy of extroverted versus intro-verted space is integral to the project as a whole and, therefore, would logically begin to dictate its overall form. This level keeps two major interests in mind: (1) the preservation of a context-focused organization as dictated by the conditions laid ot in level two and (2) a persistent interest in what unexpected outcomes arrive from a switching of conditions- in this case, the extroverted and introverted spaces’ place-ment in the overall structure in relation to its position above or below surface level. Taking into account the fact that much of the labyrinth’s power arises from its mono-linearity, a formal expression of theis characteristic becomes necessary. By imagin-ing the library as a continuous surface spiral at its core that leaves space to push out to in order to fill the site’s footprint, a continuous experiential path can be main-tained, while allowing the emergent spaces to coalesce at two specific scales: (1) at various points within the level one adjacencies of the labyrinth and (2) as slippages in volume where the floor plan begins to push out of the spiral to fill the site at a larger, more volumetric and formal scale. The switching aspect is further explored at this level as well. Below surface level, introverted spaces are pushed to the outside of the spiral, while the extroverted collective spaces all coalesce at center. This condition switches as the spiral carries the occupants above surface level, where much of the introverted individual spaces occuring in the spiral core, while extroverted spaces occur in the emergent, rendered as slippages from the core volume. This creates another dual condition of the coalesced versus the expansion of space, depending on one’s position in relation to the surface datum. The most interesting outcomes of this duality then would occur at surface level, where the tension of this switch begins to be rendered spatially.

Orthogonal Hierarchy

Interior Synthesis:Hierarchical Control + Spatial Configuration

In synthesizing these codes into an interior logic, two separate but interrelated typologies begin to emerge in terms of the labyrinthian logic and its relation to the programmed spaces and the conveyance of information through this network fo receptors where the occupants can plug in to the digital network. In lower, more strictly controlled conditions, where the extroverted spaces are still more individual and subservient to the tight labyrinth of introverted, individual space lends itself to an orthogonal hierarchy where linear partitions (stacks?) guide the occupant to unexpected emergent space around a smaller interior spiral core. When more extroverted emergent space is required and needs to be dominant over the intro-verted, the curivlinear hierarchy is more valuable in its capacity for more open, expanded space that guides the occupant though its curved partitioning while maintaining the capacity for creating tight introverted space circulating around a more expanded spifal core. Both conditions are able to integrate the “Dead Drop”

network in designated zones as well.

Curvilinear Hierarchy

Emergent

Surface Level

INTROVERTED

EXTROVERTED

EXTROVERTED

INTROVERTED

Spiral (Core)

Research + Program

READING ROOM

ATRIUM

AUDITORIUM

THEATER

GALLERY


CLASSROOMS

DIGITAL WORKSPACES


INFO DESKS

CARRELS

MECHANICAL SPACE

CIRCULATION

TOTAL

DRAFTING AREAS

CONFERENCE ROOMS

SOUND BOOTHS

Logistics: Tying Programmatic Zones to Square Footages

An important perspective to begin to think of about the organization of the library is understanding a rough concept of the spatial requirements of the library based on the programmatic elements prescribed. While this is subject to a lot of adjustment before a final form is achieved it allows a potential ratio of spaces to one another to be established. This is especially important in the design of library as labyrinth in order to understand what emergent spaces need to occur and how much space

each one of these will require.

~359,000 sf

~40,000 sf

~10,000 sf

~5,000 sf

~2,500 sf

~2,500 sf

~1,000 sf

~5,000 sf

~10,000 sf

~10,000 sf

~150,000 sf

~20,000 sf

~5,000 sf

~20,000 sf

~7,500 sf

~20,000 sf

~50,000 sf

Organization + Information

Information Mapping:Drop Zones + The Temporal Shift of the Digital Network

A vital aspect to begin to consider is the ebb and flow of information as people begin to upload and download digital information and projects using the “Drop Zone” network at the nodes throughout the building. These nodes are not only points of connection to the digital infrastructure, but also can begin to guide occu-pants on certain trajectories based on the relationships indexed between informa-tion (desired or suggested) located at different nodes. Over time, as new porjects and information is uploaded to the network by users, these trajectories and the data stored at each node will change dramatically, as users will sometimes tend to use their closest drop node, attempt to build new categories, etc. Therefore, new and unexpected relationships can begin to build up from what was originally a very uniform category system. It is then the responsibility of the library to begin to facili-tate and anticipate these changes, even though the exact patterns of coales-

cence and dispersal are impossible to predict.

DROP AREA

extroverted labyrinth: the new metropolitan library as

Documents

library na

rose library

library model

ones way

node of coalescence

labyrinth of index

citys infrastructure

digitized information