DESIGN PROFILE THE FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA
DIGSAU
The Free Library of Philadelphia procured A series of installations throughout several local public library branch locations with a goal to reimagine the learning environment while serving as a pilot and example for a how a community-engagement process can result in place-based, transformational change. To best integrate these new immersive environments within the spatial and cultural context of each library, the multi-disciplinary design team’s scope of work was broad, including community engagement, programming, design, fabrication, installation, staff training, and assessment. The team was responsible to lead workshops with community members and staff, develop a curriculum for librarians, and provide ongoing training and observation to support this new initiative and to assess its impact. The result of this collaborative design process is an ecosystem of components that consist of small-scale, interchangeable elements shared between branch locations and large-scale, fixed installations unique to each individual site. The small, manipulatable common elements include magnetic letters, sets of large, soft tangram blocks that can be assembled into seating and structures, and bookshelves with “nooks” that can be inhabited. To the librarians’ enthusiasm, the nooks double as storage for the tangram blocks. The bookshelves reflect the existing shelving in material and proportion, allowing the new installations to seamlessly integrate with the old. n
Cecil B. Moore Library
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA CLIENT: The Free Library of Philadelphia PROJECT TEAM: DIGSAU (Architect) Studio Ludo (Community Outreach & Play Consultant) Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse (Curriculum, Training & Assessment) Erector Sets (Fabrication & Installation) House Industries (Typeface Design)
Whitman Library
26 SPRING 2020 | context | AIA Philadelphia
PHOTOS: HALKIN | MASON PHOTOGRAPHY
PROJECT: The Free Library of Philadelphia