Comanche Library & Museum City of Comanche Oklahoma Municipal League OU Institute for Quality Communities
Summary In Spring 2018, the City of Comanche received a matching grant from the Oklahoma Municipal League to seek assistance from the University of Oklahoma Institute for Quality Communities. The IQC team spent a day with community stakeholders gathering information and learning about the community’s interest in a new facility that would serve as a museum and library. The site visit included a walking tour of the site, two meetings with community stakeholders, and a tour of the Stephens County Historical Museum. After the visit to Comanche, the IQC team drafted concepts for the overall layout of the site as well as conceptual designs for the new museum and library facility.
Project Partners City of Comanche Dennis Dobbins, City of Comanche Mayor Chuck Ralls, Comanche City Manager Caylee Ralls, 2017-2018 Student City Council Member Matt Dennis, 2017-2018 Student City Council Member Deborah Hunter, Director Comanche Nutrition Center Steve Bolton, Comanche Times Editor & Local Historian Cova Williams, Director of the Stephens County Historical Museum Attendees of the Comanche Nutrition Center With Generous Support from the Oklahoma Municipal League
OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) Shane Hampton, Executive Director of IQC Hope Mander, Asssociate Director of IQC Ron Frantz, Professor Dave Boeck, Associate Professor, Architecture Amy Hostetter, Architecture Intern Folasayo Salami, Graduate Assistant Sridhar Yalamanchili, Graduate Assistant Goutam Vella, Graduate Assistant Rachel Ware, Graduate Assistant
Site Visit
Remaining walls of Woodrow Wilson building
Bricks from original building
View looking SE towards building located on the eastern border of the site
Building located on the eastern border of the site
View of building foundation looking north
View looking NW towards Comanche water tower
The site visit also included visits to the Stephens County Historical Museum and downtown Comanche.
Site Plan Ash Ave.
Landscaped Roundabout
Event Lawn
Gazebo
Office
Existing Site
Fire Station (8-10 bays)
Hickory Ave.
City Hall HWY 81
S. 4th Ave.
Pergola
Museum Exhibits
Lobby/ Lounge
Floor Plan
Entry
Entry Reception Desk
Entry Collaborative Spaces
Conference Room
Cafe & Lounge Courtyard
Reception Desk
Entry
Computer Lab Courtyard Open To Sky
Library Area with Bookshelves
Creating Making Space
Built Area (excluding courtyards): 9,696 sq ft Main Courtyard: 876 sq ft Quiet Study Spaces
Interior Courtyard: 252 sq ft Total: 10,824 sq ft
Walk-through (starts from east entrance) A landscaped roundabout to your left, a mural depicting the history of Comanche on the brick wall to your right (1). You walk down the sidewalk towards the northeast corner of the new community center. It is a Sunday, so the concrete plaza beside the building has a few vendors with tents set up— farmers selling some of the freshest produce around, and a couple of women selling homemade crafts and jams. The brick walls evoke a sense of the traditional materials, while tall glass windows with aluminum frames add a modern touch. You continue along the east side of the building. Uniquely shaped triangular blocks made of concrete are stacked high. The holes in the center of each block form a semi-permeable wall. You can see through them, but only partially. An opening in the wall is the main entrance into the building (2). It forms an axis through the beautifully landscaped park to the entrance of the city hall. You turn right and stroll through a fairly spacious courtyard. Rows of trees create an excellent shaded space for people to enjoy the fresh air while still feeling secure. Then you open the double doors and are greeted by a grand atrium. It is two stories high and lined with windows, letting in ample amounts of natural light into the café below (3). The café, while not huge, is enough space for someone to grab a cup of coffee and enjoy some company in the comfortable seating. You walk through the café to an alternate entrance. Most people who park at the roundabout would use this entrance.
Immediately, an information desk is at the front to answer any questions. Near the entrance is a small lounge space for guests (4). You move beyond the small lounge area and meander through a series of display cases that showcase old photographs and objects from Comanche’s history (5). This mini-museum is very flexible and the displays can be changed or updated as the city pleases. You proceed past the museum into a wide corridor. The right side of the corridor has an additional entrance that is surrounded by beautiful plants and a small pond beside it. To the left side of the corridor are three collaboration spaces (6). They are fairly open to the surrounding space, with only 8 foot tall glass panels separating them from the corridor, and solid walls on the opposite side separating them from the café. You go inside one of them and feel a sense of privacy while still being connected to the rest of the building. With a table and a few chairs, they encourage small groups of students to work and study together. (Continued on next page.)
Walk-through Walking farther down the corridor, you look to your right. A glass-enclosed conference room provides the same sense of semi-privacy as the collaborative spaces (7). A slightly larger table and a projector allow presentations or meetings to be held there. Ahead, you see a courtyard within the building, filled with native flora and providing a pocket of nature for people to enjoy (8). Two spaces are adjacent with a view of the courtyard, each of which are separated by a frosted glass barrier. There is a computer lab, with several computers available for the community to do research or stay in touch with their loved ones (9). Additionally, there is a creatingmaking space, filled with desks and an opportunity to work on creative projects such as drawing, making posters, or any other hobby that requires a bit of extra table space (10). Across from the courtyard opens up to the library (11). You are now in the quieter portion of the building. You move towards a section of the space that contains several chest height rows of books. Some of them are historical volumes, pertaining to history of Comanche and Oklahoma. Others are modern fiction and nonfiction for the community to enjoy. The space is still open to the rest of the building and everything feels connected and modern. To your right on the south side of the building is an enclosed study area (12). Inside, the south-facing windows allow a lot of natural sunlight. It still has frosted glass panels somewhat separating it from the rest of the building, while allowing students a quiet and isolated place to study. Exiting the study room brings you full circle to the cafĂŠ again, back to
the more lively part of the building meant for socializing. Overall, it is an extremely accessible building meant to have an open floor plan and promote a united community.
East Entrance
West Exterior Entrance We Entrance
East Courtyard Entrance
Library/Cafe Atrium
Cafe & Lounge
Entrance , Visitor Info, & Museum Exhibit Space
Conference Room
Courtyard & Computer Lab
Creating-Making Space
Study Lounge
Report prepared by: OU Institute for Quality Communities OU Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture 830 Van Vleet Oval Gould Hall 165 Norman, OK 73019