Pendergast Rare Books Library by Gregory Turner

PENDERGAST RARE BOOKS LIBRARY

A building needs a sense of presence to it, especially those which want an attraction of people. Two things which give the museum presence is its shear scale in relation to its contextual surroundings and the floating beam of light which sits atop the structure. Scale was looked at from the beginning stages and it was soon recognized that if this museum was to have presence then it needs to be seen from a distance both from the bottoms and from the downtown side of Kansas City. With the second form being presence, people are drawn to light and the idea of a floating beam of light at the top of the building gives a level of mystery to keep people wondering what might house the beam of light. During the day this portion of the building is a place for people to view the sites over the bottoms and to the east towards Kansas City. At night it turns into a light box to set the building apart from anything which surrounds it. The context surrounding the museum is just as important as the museum itself. The space to the east and the more open surrounding space to the west need to bring just as much interest and presence to the space as the building does from a distance. Each space generates a different kind of feeling depending upon the time of day and the use of the space at the time. The more public space to the west is an inviting event space where concerts, games, outdoor movies, and outdoor lectures can be held at all hours of the day. This space is intended to bring interaction back into the Quality Hill District once again. The park will attract all walks of life from young to old, business man to the night life person and so on. Not only is this space intended for public events but it is intended for spill-out space from the forum to encourage people to bring the indoors to the exterior where weddings, birthday parties, meetings and other private events can be held. To the west of the museum, the more private side, is to be used as a small gathering place for personal activities amongst only a few individuals like chess games, outdoor reading, and communal independence meaning just a one-on-one meeting spot. This space is more of a self-reflecting place where the park to the east is a place of interaction whether that be with other individuals or just the surroundings itself.

SITE PLAN

Books appear solid when closed and the building is to appear just the same way which brings a level of mystery to it. You read a book to find out what the story is all about and you do the same with a building. From the exterior you look at it and touch it but don’t really know what’s inside it so the mind tends to wonder. This is human instinct and humans can’t help but wonder what is on the inside if they are not allowed to see it from the outside. The deeper you go into a book the more you become one with the story it is telling and this is the intention of the museum. For this reason the gradual ramp system which surrounds the rare books library is intended for the viewer to interact with the stacks of books in a slow process. Ask yourself this, why would a building want to expose its interior? A book never tells you the story before you read it. It may give you a glimpse of what is to come, but it will never give you the outcome without forcing you to read it, just as a building should do the same. Just as one reads a book they rarely read the entire book all at once and they need to be released from it. The museum is the same way; one must escape the building although they may never exit the building. A place where pieces of forgotten or lost work can be read in a private or more intimate setting is the intention of the smaller scale independent reading rooms along the eastern façade where you still have a connection with nature but can completely indulge yourself into this written piece of art.

1/32”=1’-0”

This is a Museum[.] A museum of literature. Books, manuscripts, maps, and magazines are just as much a work art as a painting on a wall or a piece of sculpture on a pedestal. What separates this museum from others is the material which is being displayed. These pieces of art are intended to be held and viewed at a personal level. Just as a book is to be held and flipped through, the building should have the same aspiration. You should want to go up to it and touch it and have a feeling of connection with it, because the eye doesn’t always tell you what you need to know.

FORUM - ENTERTAINMENT FORUM - MUSEUM

1 DN

DN 8' 16'

24'

SECOND LEVEL

MUSEUM GALLERY

FIRST LEVEL

DN UP

4 12

4 3

5 11

A A

8 UP

7 6

SOUTH ELEVATION

15 DN

UP UP

16'

SKY GARDEN

15 A

EIGHTH LEVEL

FOURTH, SIXTH LEVELS

THIRD, FIFTH, SEVENTH LEVELS

24'

LEGEND 1 bookstore 2 forum space 3 collapsible stage 4 bookstore storage 5 forum storage 6 entry 7 coat room 8 director’s office 9 curator’s office 10 librarian’s office 11 book preservation 12 workroom 13 rare books library 14 gallery 15 reading room 16 conference room 17 sky garden

PROGRAM gallery rare books library administration bookstore conference room reading room forum sky garden

EAST ELEVATION

EGRESS (a) occupied point common path exit access common path exit path egress path exit discharge

STRUCTURE 10” concrete columns 12” concrete ramp cables suspension top hat truss concrete foundation concrete elevator shafts

b c d

SECTION A-A

SECTION B-B

VEGETATION GROWING MEDIA SYSTEMFILTER DRAINAGE LAYER STYROFOAM ROOT STOP HYDROFLEX MEMBRANE SUBSTRATE