Order of Work
The building committee having been chosen, the librarian being in charge, the adviser selected, the architect appointed, the cost provided for, and the site chosen, it is time for planning to begin.
The first step should be to inspect the site together, and let the architect (without letting his mind anticipate details) say what form of building would best suit site and neighborhood,—tall or low, broad or narrow, four equal-sided, or front and rear, occupying whole lot, or leaving skirts for air, light, and quiet.
If the committee should approve his first impressions, the next thing to do is for librarians to find the cubic contents that funds will allow (see chapter on Cost[159]), get from the architect his idea of how many stories there would better be, with the height of each (including basement), and possible pitch of roof. Then, getting tentatively the height of the building, divide the cube by the height, to approximate the floor area.
The next important question is, which shall be the main floor? The second floor is sometimes considered; if the ground falls off rapidly, what is basement on one front, and ground floor on the other, may be eligible. (In comparing English with American plans and descriptions, remember that their first floor is our second.) Almost invariably, the first or ground floor will assert itself as the main floor, into which, in all buildings but the largest, it will be desirable to dovetail as many departments of active service as possible.
Having already calculated the available area of the floor, you are prepared to make a list of the rooms you want to get on it, and to define the size of each. You will already have arrived at some prepossessions about this, but before you finish planning you will probably have to modify them considerably. To be thorough, it will be wise to make your own list of the rooms needed for the kind and extent of work you want to do, then look over a lot of plans, and perhaps read the printed architectural requirements issued for libraries of your grade and class, in order to be sure you have not overlooked any of your own needs.
As you get to know the size of your delivery-room and main reading-rooms, it is time to confer again with the architect about his general ideas as to suitable proportions for building, whether it will have a distinct front and rear or will require outside effect all around; and as an element in that case, where you shall put the stack, if you have got to have one.
Then comes the most interesting part of planning, the putting together of your picture puzzle. Mr. Foster of Providence actually cut out of paper and grouped together his proposed rooms. I have found it better to get the architect, with paper, pencil and foot-rule, and draw to scale many successive sketches of each floor, assembling and transferring rooms, working out the passages, and calculating stairs. As you proceed, the architect will be evolving his exterior, and now, before he gets his mind fixed, is the time for mutual concessions.
When the rooms are fairly co-ordinated, their required furnishing has to be plotted in, especially the shelving. How many books and readers, how related, do you want in each room? Are wall-shelves better, or full floor cases, shallow or deep alcoves, low floor cases, partitions, railings, what not? Have you provided for full supervision and quick service everywhere?
The stack requires separate study. Is it necessary to have one? Where shall it best be put,—along one side? at the top? at the bottom? or as a projection from the building? As to details, see chapter on [Stack].
When the rooms have been settled and their requirements defined, the architect’s special duties begin. He has to settle the necessary height of rooms, the provision of sufficient light for each by day and by night, the arranging provisions for heat and ventilation, not to interfere with books or shelving, or tables or desks. All this before the exterior is considered,—all spent in planning that interior which the exterior must conform to.
“Work on your plan, finish your plan. When that is perfect, the rest will come.”—Mauran.[160]
Then you may take a month or two for the preliminary conferences between the librarian and his adviser; a month or two for conferences between them and the architect; a month or less for inspection of other libraries. At some time during this process two trips may be taken to other libraries, the first rather early, as soon as your ideas have taken form enough for you to know what you want to look at; the other toward the end, when your need of further information is fully defined. Where to go, whom to take on your tour of inspection, will depend on what funds you can spare. Details of furniture, location of lights, and so on, may be deferred, to be taken up during building. A month or less is needed to submit results to the committee. After their approval has been obtained, the architect must prepare working drawings and specifications, invite bids for work, wait two or three weeks for them, and even then you are ready to break ground on your building in half the time and with half the expense, for fees, traveling, and all, that a competition would have required.
Extras. One good result of this thorough study of every detail in advance should be, that no new wants or serious omissions occur to you when you come to build.
But if you do not plan so thoroughly as to cover all contingencies, expect to find something to be changed or added as you go on, confronting you with those “extra charges” which often appall builders of dwelling houses. Still if your oversights follow to plague you, your architect can here help you with the contractor, and can generally find savings enough in “perfectly good” alternatives in labor or material to balance the cost of the extras. If they finally get ahead of you, and materially increase the cost, either architect or librarian is at fault—someone did not plan well ahead.
Model. The last step of planning may well be the preparation by the architect of a sketch-model in clay for the building committee. This shows the proportions and visualizes all features far more clearly then floor plans, elevations and sections on paper can do. If the sketch-model can show both elevation and sections, it will bring to the librarian his allocation of rooms in final review, and bring out to all concerned, librarian, architect, committee and public, just how the building will “work” and how it will look.
D.
FEATURES
This Book contains considerations which affect the whole building. Note especially Light, Heat, Ventilation.