GLMV Architecture drew inspiration for its design of the Advanced Learning Library from nearby art and architectural attractions including downtown Wichita, the Historic Delano District, Exploration Place, a science and discovery center with a modern, concrete, geometrical design, and “The Keeper of the Plains,” a steel sculpture.
Physical and visual connections between the library and attractions were created, in part, with building materials. Concrete and metal are found in the attractions and as the primary façade materials on the library. Jeff Kuhn, architect at GLMV Architecture, Wichita, says, “The form of the building really draws upon these connections.”
One good spot to see how the design makes the connections with the city’s architecture and art attractions is a reading terrace, Kuhn says. “You really get a sense of the connection the building is trying to make from this location. You also get an up close and personal look at how all the building materials play off of one another to form this very modern, sleek and great public building.”
A rainscreen was used to construct watertight adjacencies on the 105,200-square-foot building between metal wall panels and precast concrete walls, many at 90-degree angles. Architectural Metals North America fabricated, and Sheet Metal Inc. installed, 13,864 square feet of Citadel Architectural Products’ Envelope 2000 RS rainscreen attachment system with metal composite material (MCM) panels in Liquid Copper.
The Advanced Learning Library replaces a smaller space a few blocks from its new location. It is a multifunctional facility with areas for teens, children, technology, nonfiction, genealogy/local history, meeting areas, a café and classrooms.
