Architecture Tour: Three Berkeley Libraries 

The AIA East Bay Design Tours Committee has organized a special architectural tour event for architects and the public. Join us on Saturday, November 2, 2013 for a tour of three recently renovated Berkeley Libraries: the North Branch, Claremont and South Branches.

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North Branch:

Architectural Resources Group in association with Tom Eliot Fisch was selected to rehabilitate and expand the Berkeley North Branch Library, a Berkeley City Landmark designed by architect James Plachek in the California Spanish style and constructed in 1936.  Maintaining the majority of its historic features, the library is a cherished centerpiece of the Solano Avenue neighborhood and the busiest of Berkeley’s four branch libraries.

The 5,000 sf one-story building was expanded with a two-story, 4,200 sf addition. The LEED Silver project restores the historic central rotunda and reading rooms, including decorative finishes and original furnishings and adds staff work areas, a teen library, a community room, accessible restroom and other support spaces in the new addition.

South Branch:

This new 8,700 square foot facility, completed in May 2013, was built to serve future generations. It was designed by Field Paoli Architects to be inviting, efficient and flexible. Library patrons will enjoy plenty of natural light, adequate space for users of all ages, beautiful artwork by Gina Dominguez and renowned Berkeley sculptor Stephen De Staebler, expanded seating, internet access throughout the library, a community meeting room and an expanded tool lending library.

Claremont Branch:

Led by Douglas Thornley, AIA, Principal, Gould Evans

The most recent renovation and addition re-establishes the significance of the original 1920’s structure while installing state-of-the-art equipment that brings the building into 21st century standards. The Tudor-style library in Berkeley is a cherished neighborhood center originally designed to blend in both scale and character with the homes around it. James W. Plachek, who also designed the Berkeley Central building downtown, gave the library an Old World charm still apparent today.

Opening up the 1970’s addition with a new glazed dormer introduces controlled daylight and reveals the library’s activities to the surrounding neighborhood. A clear, accessible and welcoming new entry marked by a glass canopy removes previous ambiguity to the library’s entrance. Relocation of the Service Desk facilitates better flow between the two wings of the building and a new “flex-space” in the Children’s Wing permits programs to occur without disrupting patrons reading quietly in the shelving area. New lighting, finishes and furnishings enhance the historic character of the 1920’s reading room. The project incorporates a range of sustainability measures and is certified LEED Silver.