Vance H. Chavis Life Long Library

As students of UNCG we are working towards creating a new innovative library for what is currently known to the Greensboro community, as the Vance H. Chavis Life Long Library.

The class has been working in mini groups working on different sections of this project. For this particular section a group of us have drawn up the first proposal of the site, below is and image to illustrate.

Illustrated on the left side of the plan is an outdoor amphitheater; centrally placed and curving to the right is the building. The top of curving structure from the building is a proposed green-roof.

Library Precedent Analysis: Local/International

As we began to prepare our minds to generate innovative designs for the Vance H. Chavis Life long Library of Greensboro,NC we must study the context and layouts of other Libraries. I chose to study the layout of the Hemphill Branch Library located locally in Greensboro and the Exeter Library located in Exeter, New Hampshire. Below are images and analytical information about each library.
HEMPHILL BRANCH LIBRARY: ANALYSIS

Building Context

The Building is located in an area where it is most like to be used. It is surrounded by residential neighborhoods, one being a residential dwelling complex, which is located across W. Vandalia Road. The others are single family homes, which are adjacent to library’s property line.

VEHICULAR AND PEDESTRIAN ACCESS

Pedestrian Access: In the surrounding area there are sidewalks available to pedestrians for their safety to steer away from the path of moving vehicles.

Vehicular Access: There are 2 entrances into the parking lot of the Hemphill library facility. The Blue arrows represent the primary routesin the area and the orange represent a secondary route. Also in the area is a bus stop whichis represented by the blue X.

SOLAR ORIENTATION

The front facade of the building faces North-West therefore, there is a dense light to enter the front entrance of the building throughout the day. However there would be more light to enter when the sun is setting.

All Sides of the building have openingsto allow daylight light to penetrate. The South allows most light to enter, along with the west and east sides. There is also a raised roof, which has clear story windows which aslo allow daylight toenter and illuminate the entire central public space, where adult readings are.The diagram above shows how the lightenter into the clear story windows.

SPACE MASSING

The spacial layout is in a compressed format. There are shapes combined and compressed into one large shape. There is space allotted for children, teens and adults. The circulation is not centrally placed therefore, there is typically a linear circulation path.

INTERIOR CIRCULATION

The diagram represents the circulation of the general public. It shows the spaces in which they can access that is open daily. However, the conference room may be open daily but
there is limited access. One have the option to reserve the space for meetings, therefore the space may be closed for set up in some cases.

EXETER LIBRARY: ANALYSIS

Located in Exeter, New Hampshire, the Exeter Library is located on the Exeter Academy. Therefore it provides services to students of Exeter Academy. The building is also in close proximity of residential neighborhoods. From an analytical perspective, the building may possibly provide services to the public because it is a historical building, and many may like to embrace its elegance. However, the primary users are students of Exeter Academy.

VEHICULAR AND PEDESTRIAN ACCESS

There isn’t any parking on the building grounds however, there is parking available along the streets which are highlighted in green. Therefore, from an analytical perspective there is a
lot of foot traffic. Furthermore, there are pathways for pedestrian traffic highlighted in blue.

CIRCULATION

There is a Vertical and Radial movement to occur throughout the building. Unlike the typical layout of libraries, the circulation desk is located on the 1st floor to give it a central location vertically instead of on the entrance floor.

GEOMETRY

The Architect Louis Kahn used all the simple shapes in geometry and kept them in their natural form; bringing them together in a uniformed way.

Precendent analysis of Vance H. Chavis Life Long Library

As group of 4 we collaborated and decided to break the project up into sections to analyze the current context of the Vance H. Chavis Life Long Library as well as some history of the library.
I was given the responsibility of observing the exterior and interior circulation. Below are diagrams of the 2. I was also given the responsibility of understanding the building's environmental impact, which will be discussed later.
The above image illustrates the vehicular and pedestrian access. As one observed there are to entrances in the parking lot, therefore traffic congestion is least likely to occur. Minimal parking may also be a factor to less traffic congest as well as the surrounding setting. The surrounding area consist of residential dwellings and single family homes. Therefore, because they are in close proximity of the library the surrounding residents in the area are likely to walk to the library. To those who are in need of ADA accessibility the buildings is at ground level however, it one is driving a vehicle with a retractable ramp the ADA accessible parking spaces are not wide enough to extend the wheel chair ramp out.


The above image illustrates the current circulation of the public users of the library. At the entrance and the station for are adult computers there is typically congestion. There is not enough floor space near these areas to allow an easy flow of traffic. Also within the building there are no outlets along the walls of the facility. The only available outlets are centrally place on the supporting columns. This is hazardous to through traffic when those who need access to the outlets when using laptop computers.

Environmental Impact

The building is historical to the community particular the African-American community. It has undergone many transformations, including 3 expansions. However, the building is now landlocked. Due to this factor there are 3 HVAC systems within the building. Each expansion required separate HVAC systems. The building itself is constructed of brick. Furthermore, brick is exposed within the building and the buildings sits on a concrete slab. Therefore, in the summer the interior climate is just at hot as the exterior climate vice versa the climate in the winter season. As a result, the HVAC system are priority needed to be addressed because they are used more to either cooling the building or heating the building. Moreover, a position asset is the minimal parking that is available to users. As a result of minimal parking more users choose to walk to the library.

Group Presentation Layout