Parisa Kohbodi Thesis Summary
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Library : A Social Infrastructure Graduate Thesis University of Waterloo 2015-2017 Supervisor: Dr. Anne Bordeleau
This thesis is sited in the suburban campus of Conestoga College, which is located on the border of Kitchener and Cambridge, adjacent to Highway 401. The site is investigated at three scales: The suburban city planning, the college master plan, and the academic library. For many centuries, the mission of the library has been seen as the collection and dissemination of information. However, following the digital revolution, the library typology is compelled to recombine and calibrate its historical role with a new set of expectations in the digital age. In my thesis, I have argued that the fundamental mission of the library is overcoming physical, social, and economic disconnectedness. Despite making information more accessible, the digital revolution has produced new types of disconnectedness. Telecommunication and transportation infrastructures have accelerated suburbanization and loss of civic spaces. The infinite and simultaneous nature of digital information has incited feelings of inundation and disorientation. The design strategy reinforces the agency of architectural object at every scale, in order to counterbalance the disconnectedness that is prevalent in the technological and urban paradigm of today. 1 Plaza 2 Bookstore/ Cafe
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4 Learning Commons
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5 Archives & Resource Center
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6 Public Functions 7 Conference Center 8 Hotel & Residence 9 Bike Path
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Aerial view of library crossing Highway 401
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Forest
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Existing Bike Path
Aerial diagram showing proposed site connections
Site Strategy : Connection & Re-orientation The design addresses the notion of disconnectedness at three scales. The proposed master plan aims to connect the two campuses and accentuates the existing features of the site. This strategy informs the form of the new library. As a sinuous bridge, the library strengthens the existing axis of movement, reorients the two campuses towards each other , and becomes a monument for Highway 401 and the sprawling city.
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Riveredge Golf Course
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Proposed site plan strategy
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Connect central forest to the lake
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Strengthen the existing tree line
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Provide a walkable path between the campuses over the highway
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Connect to Walter Bean Grand River Trail
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Intensify activity along campus lawn with connection to bus stop
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Proposed building site plan
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Central public plaza connecting forest and lake
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Learning commons & library bridging two campuses
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New bike path along existing tree line elevated over the highway
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Future academic building
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Residence & Conference Center
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Campus central lawn
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Future Cambridge City Sports Multiplex
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Drop-off point
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Surface parking/ future development
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Bus stop Access route
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Structural axonometric
Infrastructural Monumentality The structure of the building is essentially an inhabited truss bridge connecting the Kitchener and Cambridge campuses across the highway. The bridge spans 550m in total, supported on 7 precast concrete columns. The notion of infrastructure plays a symbolic and pragmatic role in the structural design of the library. Employing similar structural language, the library makes visual references to large scale bridges and overpasses of the highway. The structural design provides an open floor plan and transparency to maximize light, views and flexibility needed for the ever-changing program of the library.
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Max Span 95000
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Truss Bay
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Typical structural module
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Diagram showing program adjacency and orientation
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Forest
Pond Highway
Pond
Baseball Field
Campus Quad & River Beyond
Diagram showing the sequence of framed views
Interaction & Community The program for the bridge is expressed as six different districts, organized from the most institutional to the most public as one moves from Kitchener towards Cambridge. The program is a balance between the traditional requirements of a library, spaces for collaborative learning, digital media, and community engagement. The careful choreography of concentration and interaction is expressive of the learning process. The bridge strategically wavers in and out of the landscape to direct specific views and frames. There is a strong visual connection between the interior and exterior communal spaces. A protected exterior bike path runs along the edge of the bridge. It allows cyclists and pedestrians to travel between the two campuses without entering the building, while having a glimpse into different programs.
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Section AA : Library hovering over the plaza
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Key Plan
View showing the connection of the plaza to the pond
Entrance & Way-finding Two most beautiful features of the Kitchener campus are a central forest and a pond. The existing Kitchener campus is a typical example of a post-war campus, where an interior circulation corridor runs through a lifeless and disorienting concrete megastructure. In the proposed design, a plaza is carved out of the center of the megastructure to establish a connection between the forest and the pond. It offers a much-needed outdoor area for the cultural and social activities of the college. The library is cantilevered directly above the plaza with large expressive columns which frame the public space. Orienting a variety of routes towards the plaza promotes greater exchange among the community and establishes this destination as a new “gateway hub�.
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Forest
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Library
Section BB: Plaza is carved out of the existing campus
View of the plaza from the edge of the forest
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Pond
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1. Wire Mesh Color Panels 2. Wire Mesh Screen
3. Curtain Wall System
4. Insulated Glass with Low-E Coating 5. Color Ceramic Frit 6. Wire Mesh Colored Fins
Typical façade assembly
Passive solar strategy for south façade
Passive solar strategy for west façade
Façade & Legibility The facade of the bridge carries out the aspirational qualities of legibility and monumentality. The proximity of the site to the highway provides a unique opportunity to communicate the college’s presence and identity. The external envelope is constructed of a unitized curtain wall system with vertical mesh fins placed in front of the mullions to provide sun shading and acoustic mitigation. The colors of the fins are calibrated to complement the materials used on the existing buildings. Warm shades of brick red, along with cool shades of aqua and seafoam green are picked up to provide a contemporary but unifying language across the campus.
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1. Wire Mesh Color Panels 2. Wire Mesh Screen
3. Curtain Wall System
4. Insulated Glass with Low-E Coating 5. Color Ceramic Frit 6. Wire Mesh Colored Fins
View from Highway 401
Colors of the louvers are calibrated to complement the materials used on the existing buildings on campus
The texture and the shadows of the mesh panels, coupled with a vibrant color strategy, create a dynamic façade system that offers observers a unique visual experience according to their position and pace The interplay of the colors and the moirÊ effect of the woven fabric will provide a surface that is colorful and animated to the distant driver. At the same time, the pedestrians and cyclists looking closely and slowly at the building will only notice a slight shift in the colors and see right through the wire mesh.
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Linear Section
Library & Resource Center
Study Booths
Group Study Pods
Learning Commons & Cafe
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1 Plaza
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2 Bookstore/ Cafe
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4 Learning Commons
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5 Archives & Resource Center
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Library & Resource Center: View From Bike Path
Bike Path In Cambridge Campus
Entry/ Public Functions
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Public Lobby
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401
6 Public Functions
7 Conference Center
8 Hotel & Residence
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9 Bike Path