Austin’s New Central Public Library

Austin American Statesman: Austin chooses architect for new central library.

I remember when I used to go to the Faulk Central Library everyday after I got out of middle school. I would go to the southwest corner of the second floor and work on my homework for an hour or two until my dad picked me up. For about a year and a half, this was a daily routine. In that time, I got to know the library really well. I knew how the books were organized, from the oversized art books on the third floor to the graphic novels on the first. I knew all the employees and security guards. I even taught myself how to use the micro film for viewing archived newspapers. And, in that time, I grew to hate the Faulk Central Library. It smelled bad, it was poorly lit, and it was always filled with homeless people.

So, when I got to vote for a new central library a year or two ago, I enthusiastically voted for it. The question, now, is what the new library will be. Rem Koolhaas practically reinvented the public library with his design for Seattle, a bustling, energetic cultural hub that housed food, shopping, and civic activities while still providing both quiet, intimate spaces and spectacularly open spaces for reading. It has become the pinnacle of library architecture.

 

Rem Koolhaas's Seattle Public Library

For Austin, it makes sense to draw from Seattle. The two cities are similar in multiple ways: equivalent size, comparable art and music scenes, large high tech work forces, environmentally progressive ambitions. Of course, Seattle does possess a more international presence, standing as a major American city, while Austin still comfortably embraces its status as a more minor American city. So, it was clear that Austin would not get a world renown architect for its library. (Plus, the bad experience that the University of Texas at Austin put Herzog & de Meuron, of Bird’s Nest fame, through surely didn’t help.)

So, as stated in the article above, Austin has finally selected an architect for its central library. To the truthful, the only firm of the three that were up for the commission that I knew was Lake|Flato, the winning firm. There is controversy, though, as Lake|Flato was the lowest rated firm of the three. It makes you wonder, why would the Austin City Council choose the firm that city staffers had rated lowest among the candidates?

Nevertheless, I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Lake|Flato. In the end, I just want a good library, because, quite frankly, Faulk Central Library is horrible.