Click here http://www.gp.lib.mi.us/building/Central_Plans_01162008.pdf to see the most recent drawings.

December Meeting

The Central Library Building Committee will meet on Wednesday, December 12 at 7:00 p.m. in the program room of the Woods Library. The public is invited.

Special Library Board Meeting

There will be a special meeting of the Library Board on Monday, November 12 in the Ewald Library Story Room at 7:00 p.m. to discuss additional compensation for the architects to refine the Central concept. Tom Marchesano will give a report. The architects will not be present.

Podcast Picks Up the Central Story

LibVibe, a library news podcast, interviewed Scott Slarsky in the September 27 edition. Click on the link to listen.

October Meeting

The building committee will meet on Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at the Woods Branch Library. Bring your thoughts and ideas. The plans can be viewed on the front page of the library's website. As always, the public is invited.

Upcoming Event - Marcel Breuer & Mid Century Modern Architecture

Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art, will present a lecture and slide show on Marcel Breuer & Mid Century Modern Architecture on Wednesday, October 24, 7:30 p.m. in the Main Reading Room of the Central Library. Mr. Kroloff is formerly Dean and Professor of Architecture at Tulane School of Architecture, and is highly respected in the field. To reserve a spot, call the library at 343-2074 x220 or register online on the library's calendar.

Watch This Watch List

The World Monuments Fund placed "Main Street Modern" on its 100 Most Endangered Sites for 2008. The Grosse Pointe Library, along with a photo of our business room, is a featured example. From their website:

The primary threats faced by Modern architecture are demolition or inappropriate renovations, and the technical challenges of conserving the experimental materials and innovative building systems used in their construction. The great threat, however, is perhaps public apathy -- a lack of consensus or confidence -- that buildings of the recent past can be important enough to be preserved for the future. There are a number of significant "Main Street Modern" buildings currently threatened with demolition or degradation, including …Marcel Breuer's Grosse Pointe Public Library (1953) in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.

The World Monuments Fund is interested in possibly committing $50,000 toward the preservation of Central Library under certain conditions. This was discussed at the August board meeting, and will be further discussed at the meeting in September. Mr. Henry Ng, Executive Vice-President of the WMF will be briefly visiting the library at the end of August.

September Meeting Plans

Our hardworking custodians will be schlepping the furniture out of the way and clearing a space in the main reading room of the Central Library for the September meeting of the building committee. We have done this many times in the past for programs, especially before the new branches were built. Unlike the National Library Week author programs where a sea of small students sat on the floor, there will be chairs to sit on. So, mark your calendars for Wednesday, September 19 at 7:00 p.m. at Central. It should be a real treat to have the architects presenting their ideas in the main reading room.

August Meeting

The Building Committee will meet on Wednesday evening, August 15, 7:00 p.m. at the Woods Branch Library. DesignLab architects will be there with their latest plans. Take a break from the boat/beach/barbecue/babes/babies/baseball or other summer pursuits and join us for an informative evening.

Upcoming Breuer Exhibit in D.C.

The National Building Museum in Washington D.C. is planning an exhibition on Breuer to open this fall.

Marcel Breuer: Design and Architecture
November 3, 2007 – February 17, 2008
First floor galleries

Marcel Breuer: Design and Architecture will focus on Marcel Breuer’s extraordinary achievement in furniture and interior design. At the same time, the exhibition will provide an opportunity to reintroduce Breuer’s long-neglected architectural work and examine its significance in the history of modern architecture.

Developed by the Vitra Design Museum in Germany (which houses one of the most extensive and comprehensive collection of Breuer’s furniture designs in the world), Marcel Breuer: Design and Architecture is the first exhibition to treat all facets of his work with equal weight from the small scale of a coffee table, through sleek residential and commercial interiors, and to large-scale buildings. The exhibition will trace the incremental development of Breuer’s daring departure from traditional wood furniture and his pivotal contribution to the history of design, with the “invention” of tubular steel furniture.

Twelve models produced exclusively for this exhibition will highlight Breuer’s extensive architectural work from residential homes to religious, cultural, and civic institutions. In addition, drawings, floor plans, photographs, models, video projection and interactive computer terminals will shed light on Breuer’s long and varied architectural career. A catalogue with more than 450 illustrations will accompany the exhibition. The National Building Museum will be the show’s exclusive North American venue.

July 11 Meeting

The DesignLab architects will be in Grosse Pointe this coming week. Bob Miklos and Scott Slarksy have been working on some preliminary ideas over the past month for the renovation and expansion of the Central Library, and will show their early conceptual designs at the upcoming building committee meeting. The meeting will be at the Woods Branch Library on Wednesday, July 11 at 7:00 p.m. It promises to be an exciting meeting. The public is invited to attend, as always.

Architects Meet The Public To Get Input On The Central Branch Project

On June 6^th, the architects for the Central Branch Projects made their first public appearance to discuss the project, their plans, and their design philosophy. Bob Miklos and Scott Slarsky, from Boston-based designLAB, came to Grosse Pointe for three days of meetings with the Library staff, Building Committee and Board members, and the public.

At the June 6^th public meeting, held at the Ewald Branch, approximately 60 people listened as Mr. Miklos and Mr. Slarsky gave a short presentation of their thoughts regarding this project and Marcel Breuer. Mr. Miklos’ and Mr. Slarsky’s enthusiasm for the project was contagious as they discussed how they will be researching all of Breuer’s buildings, paying particular attention to the Central Branch, in order to develop an understanding of Breuer’s overall philosophy and his thinking regarding our library. Mr. Miklos specifically discussed how he would be investigating, along with a landscape architect with whom he has worked on 6 prior library projects, designing a terrace or courtyard as a way to continue the openness of the present building and to provide a beautiful place to relax, read, and socialize.

Following the presentation, the architects reversed roles by seeking input from the audience about what issues were important to them and the community. For an hour, the architects listened to comments and took questions from the audience. The comments and questions ranged from consideration of putting the book stacks underground in order to preserve the open, airy, and well-lit reading room on the main floor, to discussions of handling and storage of the branch’s art pieces, and ensuring that the designs would not overwhelm or detract from the original Breuer design.

One specific area of interest was the materials used by Breuer. When he designed the building, Breuer also designed all aspects of the interior including the wall coverings and furniture. While the architects believe that some of the wall coverings may be past their prime, especially in terms of noise-dampening, they are confident that they will be able to find coverings that will provide effective noise-reduction and be consistent with Breuer’s design philosophy.

While no date for their return visits have been definitely scheduled, the architects plan to return to Grosse Pointe monthly to continue the exchange of information as they begin their design work and to be able to not only maintain the Breuer building, but to expand it in a manner that is faithful to Breuer’s overall design, look, and feel.

I’m Concerned About The Central Branch, But I’m Not On The Building Committee. Can I Still Get Involved?

Yes, you can, and the Building Committee wants your help.

Since the Building Committee began meeting weekly (Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m., check the Library’s website (www.gp.lib.mi.us) for the location), a number of Grosse Pointe residents have been attending the meetings regularly. While they are technically not members of the Building Committee, because the meetings are rather informal, they often ask questions and offer comments during the Committee discussions. Most of the time there are sufficient copies of the documents that the Building Committee members receive during the meeting that the audience is able to have their own copies, so they get the same information as the Committee members.

The Building Committee faces a number of difficult and emotional issues regarding the Central Branch, such as whether the existing Marcel Breuer-designed building can be updated so as to avoid demolition, and how parking requirements are going to be met. The Committee wants to make the best possible recommendations to the Library Board and, in order to do that, it needs to hear from the public to ensure that different views, opinions, and ideas are all considered.

Those members of the public attending the meetings have not been shy with their opinions, and this is just the way the Building Committee wants it. These people regularly contribute to the meetings with their comments, opinions, and even their criticisms. As the Committee discusses how additional space can be used and allocated in an expanded-Central Branch, people voice their thoughts of what works, what doesn’t work, what they like and don’t like, about the other new branches in the Park and the Woods. This input is invaluable for designing the Central Branch, especially as the nature of libraries and how they are utilized continues to rapidly change.

So, attend a meeting or two and let the Building Committee know what you think.

designLab to Meet with Building Committee

Bob Miklos and Scott Slarsky of designLab Architects will join the Central building committee at the meeting on Wednesday, June 6, 7:00 p.m. at the Ewald Branch. The public is encouraged to come and meet the architects, as well as to take the opportunity early on in the project to express their ideas, needs and interests for the Central Library. In the meantime, check out their website to see some of their outstanding work. This photo shows the two architects demonstrating their approach to the project -- with models -- at the Library Board meeting on April 30.

New Development May Affect Central Branch Issues

Plans are beginning to emerge regarding a new office/community building that the City of Grosse Pointe Park may build on the property in front of the Ewald Branch fronting Jefferson Avenue. The City and some members of the Board of Trustees have met and the City has offered to allow the Library to lease space in the new building. The Building Committee has begun to discuss the possibility of moving some of the Library’s administrative and technical services to this new building.

This may be significant because the Central Branch would have housed these services and, by being able to move them out of the Central Branch, this means that less space may be needed there. The Central Branch is located on a small piece of property. The property is already fully-utilized by either the present building or parking. Because the plan is to expand the overall square footage – regardless of whether the current building is used or replaced – any savings from transferring services to another branch or building will ease the overall space concerns. And, since expanding the building size means decreasing parking space, if that expansion can be limited, the parking issues will be easier to solve.

It is too early to tell if transferring Administration will increase the likelihood that the current Breuer-designed building can be saved. Before that can be assessed, more details will be needed regarding 1) the Park’s new building; 2) how much space can be saved by transferring Administration; and 3) the architect’s analysis. (The architect will be selected within a few weeks.)

Whether this will have much of an effect on overall cost cannot be determined at this early date. Factors such as how much overall space can be saved in construction, how much space will need to be leased, and the rent must all be considered. In construction, the cost would be up-front (at the time of the building), when renting, the cost (paying rent and any build-out) can be spread over the term of the lease and any extensions.

While little detail is known regarding this new building and exactly how it will impact the Central Branch expansion, it is an encouraging development.

Architect Interviews

Here at the Central Library we've been under the magnifying glass for the past two weeks. This outstanding group of architects being interviewed are doing their homework and then some! The Board of Trustees will continue with round two of the architect interviews tonight. The meeting will be at the Woods Branch Library starting at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.

Short List a Tall Order

The Building Committee had a daunting task in selecting a short list of architects for the Central Library building project. Many, many exciting, well-qualified firms submitted requests for qualifications. The list has been narrowed to five, and they will be interviewed on two nights this month. The regular library board meeting on Monday, April 23 will begin 30 minutes earlier than usual to allow time for the first two interviews, with Fanning Howey at 6:30 and Luckenbach Ziegelman at approximately 7:40. Other meeting agenda items will follow the interviews. Part Two will be on the following Monday, April 30. Engberg Anderson will be interviewed at 6:30, followed by Ross Barney at 7:40, and designLAB at 8:50. Both of these meetings will be held at the Woods Branch Library and, as always, the meetings are open to the public.

Meeting Locale for April 11

The Building Committee will be meeting at the Woods Branch this week. Original plans to meet at Ewald have been changed. Among other items on the agenda is the selection of a short list of architects. The meeting will start at 7:00 p.m. and is open to the public.

A Little Weekend Reading

Twenty-eight architecture firms responded to the library's Request For Qualifications for the central building project by the deadline on March 29. Members of the building committee, trustees and library director will be reading and evaluating these reports carefully over the next week or so.

The committee will narrow the choices to the top three or four, and interviews will take place at the library board meeting on April 23. This meeting has an early start time of 6:30 p.m.

A copy of each proposal is available at the reference desk at all three libraries for the public to peruse. The public is welcome to send comments to the library board, as well as attend the board and building committee meetings.

Charrette Designs on Display

Designs submitted to the charrette sponsored by Archinect were presented to the library board at the February 26 meeting by two young architects. The design boards were displayed at the Ewald Branch on Thursday evening, March 1, and are currently on display on the windows of the main reading room at the Central Library. Participants promote saving the 1953 building designed by Marcel Breuer, and the designs represent a wide selection of approaches to add to the building while maintaining the original structure.