mlk renovation design ideas, team 1: mecanoo + martinez and johnson
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Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial LibraryWashington, D.C.
Mecanoo / Martinez+Johnson ArchitectureConcept plan TEC submittalDelft / Washington, February 7, 2014
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Mecanoo Martinez+Johnson1
Delft / Washington, 7 February 2014
Dear Mr. Abdullah and colleagues:
Mecanoo with Martinez+Johnson Architecture presents a unique paring primed to delivera Next Generation Library project that celebrates MLKs renowned Miesian architecture
while embracing Washington DCs contemporary culture and changing needs. Our teams
collective resources provide for a full range of Architectural design and related services
for the renovation of the library and for entitlements for a possible addition to the
building. Within the scope of these services, we will create a new vision for the Martin
Luther King Jr. Memorial Library that presents innovative opportunities for educational
engagement, delivers a comprehensive arrangement that unies both commercial and
library directives, and is an attractive catalyst for community activity.
In response to these challenges, we present a robust architectural design team with a
broad range of relevant experience together with world-class relevant design abilities,
highly experienced preservation sensitivities, strongly developed process skills, and the
technical expertise necessary to craft and realize the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Librarys vision for this facility. Ours is a carefully balanced collaboration of leading voices
in architectural design, innovation in public libraries, and experience working in the
District of Columbia. We thoroughly understand the vision of developing a 21stcentury
library within the 20th century facility, transforming it in the process, and maintaining
its historical signicance. We have experience in international collaborations with our
respective partners and sub-consultants and are skilled and experienced within the DC
entitlement process, having undertaken decades of work involving historic resources.
We utilize a proven process of information sharing and consensus building while adhering
to our clients goals and requirements to surpass expectations. Both rms have a high
level of experience working with Building Information Modelling (BIM) to control costs,
to expedite planning, to maintain high quality throughout the design and construction
process, and to provide an efcient maintenance model for long term building operation.
Leading our design effort will be Netherlands-based Mecanoo. Their work often
intervenes within existing building fabric - including modernist landmarks - creating new
and exciting interpretations. The practice designs beautiful public buildings that are
embraced by their users, respect the social and natural environment, and consciously
contribute to the quality of life in urban centers.
Led by founder and creative director Francine Houben FAIA, their award-winninginternational work takes a critical approach that continually examines new problems
instead of familiar architectural mannerisms. For nearly 30 years, Mecanoos compact,
multidisciplinary team has amassed an extraordinary capacity for the critical exploration
of contemporary architecture from a viewpoint unconstrained by set stylistic features.
Through frequent collaborations with international partners and sub-consultants,
unrealized opportunities are unearthed by seeking unexpected solutions for the specics
of programme and context. Each design is considered in terms of its cultural setting, place
and time. With the successful delivery of library projects such as the recently completedLibrary of Birmingham integrated with te REP Theatre (UK), the Delft University of
Technology Library, and other large scale public buildings around the globe, Mecanoo has
designed buildings that are seamlessly integrated with their contexts and that engage
the communities that surround them.
In order to guarantee project success, Mecanoo commits to having people on site
throughout the design and construction phases. As such, Mecanoo will commit to a DC
presence for the duration of the project, ensuring true collaboration with Washington
DC-based Martinez+Johnson Architecture. The rm will share responsibilities with
Mecanoo throughout the project, initially supporting them in the programming,
planning, and design phases, sharing the documentation effort, and then leading
Construction Administration.
In projects across the US and beyond, M+J has regularly teamed with other architectural
companies in a seamless manner, in a variety of roles and relationships. M+J is a design-
oriented practice that consistently leads the documentation/delivery process.
The 20 year old rm has been recognized for design excellence on virtually every one of
their projects, most of which have extensively involved historic buildings including several
mid-20thcentury structures. Principal Thomas E Johnson AIA will lead M+Js efforts as he
has done for other DCPL projects, serving as the primary interface with both DCPL and
Mecanoo. Fellow founding Principal Gary Martinez FAIA will lend his expertise in leading
the entitlements process an public engagement. As most of M+Js work involves existing
structures or work within historic districts, the rm has developed particular expertise in
navigating the citys review and approval processes.
The rm had numerous successfull presentations to the Historic Preservation Review
Board, to the US Commission on Fine Arts, to the National Capital Planning Commission,
and to others. M+J is well known in the preservation community for open and collegial
discussions with staff to HPRB and with the groups who advise them such as Advisory
Neighborhood Commissions.
Working with DCPL, M+J can point to two successful examples of positive community
engagement while leading challenging renovation efforts at the Takoma Library and theGeorgetown Neighborhood Library, the latter a virtual rebuilding of a 1935 regional
library after a major re. Through these efforts, M+J became familiar with the goals of
DCPL in general and on specic projects.
Mecanoo with Martinez+Johnson Architecture collaborates under the notion that the
work we do as architects uplifts humanity [and] has dignity and importance and should
be undertaken with painstaking excellence. (Martin Luther King Jr.)
Cover letter
Thomas E. Johnson AIA
Principal, Martinez+Johnson Arch
Washington DC
In many ways, the library project epitomizes the evolution of libraries need to eminnovation in learning and the changing needs of users, while respecting the past
To understand these challenges, we have spent time exploring the MLK library in
conditions, visiting other libraries in DC, and chatting informally with visitors, an
As a team, we have already undertaken considerable discussion regarding the spe
and opportunities for updating the Mies building, and recent visits to the MLK Li
reinforce and afrm our enthusiasm for the project.
Sincerely,
Francine M. J. Houben FAIA
Principal / Creative Director, Mecanoo
Delft, The Netherlands
Mecanoo Martinez+Johnson
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Content
Cover letter
Concept narrative
Understanding the challenges of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Concept for the layout of the next generation library How to combine public and private? An ensemble of a library and residences?
Renovation of a Modernist Monument into a LEED Gold building
Design and entitlements challenges
Library concept plan
Library mixed use concept plan
Signed amendments
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6
16
mecanooarchitecten
Oude Delft 203, 2611 HD Delft
The Netherlands
phone +31 (0)15 279 81 00www.mecanoo.nl
MARTINEZ+JOHNSON
ARCHITECTURE
1412 Eye Street, NWWashington, DC 20005
phone (202) 333-4480www.mjarchitecture.com
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Concept narrativeUnderstanding the challenges of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Visit October 2013
To understand the challenges of the MLK Library, I visit the building at different moments
of the day, on different days of the week in October 2013. How is it used, what are the
problems and opportunities? What is the atmosphere like? What is the lighting like in
the morning, at lunchtime, in the evening just before closing time, or even at night?
It looks like nobody knows how to switch of the lights of the building. I chat with visitors
and staff of the library. I always feel a need to experience the people, the place and
the purpose at rst hand to obtain a further understanding of the documents that we
received about the facts, gures and challenges.
Visit June 19761976 was my rst visit (of many) to Washington. Now in 2013, biking through the city,
I experience how the city center has changed towards a more mixed use district.
One important issue that is under consideration is adding residential apartments to
attract more people to live in this area of the city. A better public realm, but also a new
concept for the MLK Library will play an important role in that mixed use strategy. I chat
with young professionals in the restaurant facing the library. Apparently they have never
even been to the library, so I ask them what is needed to make that happen. I also chat
with empty-nesters who decide to return to the city center, and ask them: what could the
role of a modern library be for you?
As a team, we want to understand the philosophy and ambitions of the DCPL so with
Tom Johnson of M+J we visit several recent libraries in the city. We notice that each
neighborhood has its own library that ts into the atmosphere of its own community.
I believe that the MLK Library should t into the atmosphere of change in the city center.
I realize that part of the assignment is familiar terrain for us. We understand what it is to
create an outstanding, internationally renowned library. We are familiar with Washingtonand working in the USA, as Mecanoo has been working in Boston since 2010. In the
Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, we are currently integrating three historical buildings
into a new Boston School Department - the Dudley Municipal Center - in the midst of a
proactive Afro-American community. We also have considerable experience restoring and
renovating listed monuments and modernist buildings in the Netherlands and abroad.
Visit January 2014
During the second visit in January 2014 we receive more information. We now also visit
the three underground non-public oors of the MLK Library. It makes us aware of the
logistics of the central library and her importance to the branch libraries. We check the
potential of oor A to receive daylight and fresh air through patios along the building.
Yes, this is possible! We visit oor 4 and are again amazed that such a potentially
transparent building is so un-transparent and disorientating. We experience how,
because of the four closed cores, the library does not feel like a public building: the cores
are dark, disorientating, unsafe, illogical, illegible, and massive.
We visit the southeast corner of the 3 rdand 4thoors. Here you experience the amazing
urban and pleasant position of the MLK Library due to the grid shift of G Street NW that
creates a beautiful open view to the 9thStreet NW and the National Portrait Gallery.
We are most excited when we go up on the roof of the library. It is a very cold and clear
day, but we imagine having a great public terrace with owers and plants here on this
sunny southeast corner with a perfect view! At the same moment, we start to think about
the idea of making apartments on top of this library. We would love to live here ourselves
... but how to combine a public building with a private building? Especially on top of a
Mies van der Rohe building?
Miesian principles and library evolution
We receive the Design Guidelines of the MLK Library made to provide a set of formal
guidelines to assist with design and renovation issues of the MLK Library. It explains the
Miesian principles and theories upon which the design is based, the holistic approach,
the recti linearity, symmetry, horizontality, transparency, and open oor plans. A basic,
rational module of 30 feet x 30 feet, governs the design. The guidelines show the original
materials, colors, furnishings and describe Mies specic opinions on exibility and his
use of modern industrial technology. Of course, after 40 years, that is often outdated.To put the book stacks (and not people) along the faade is symbolic of the big evolution
of libraries in the last 40 years from monofunctional purpose to multifunctional use.
Today, the library is a facility where people not only consume but also produce
knowledge. Today, a modern library is rst about people, and then, of course, about
books. The new MLK Library should reect this evolution and be a public space where
people meet and exchange knowledge and ideas.
In the Washingtonia Room, we see the original model for the MLK Library. We notice
some remarkable changes shown in the original design. The main entrance on G Street
NW was meant to be anked by two marble walls in the same line as the faade with
the doors. They were changed to yellowish brick walls that peep out underneath the
canopy, creating an entrance hidden from the public domain, especially from 9 thStreet.
We also found the ramp and the loading and unloading dock to be different. Maybe we
can improve these parts of the buildings that are not very well working in the public realm
of Washington
This recent visit to the building, reading the guidelines, and seeing the old model makesit more clear what strategy we would like to suggest as a working title: the Ten MMMM
Principals (MLK, Mies, Mecanoo, M+J).
The Ten MMMM principals
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of Americas most inuential civil rights activists who
challenged injustice. His passionate but nonviolent protests helped to raise awareness of
social inequalities in America, leading to signicant political change. Martin Luther King
ignited passion for social change. To embody this spirit, our ten principals are:
1. Make a Library Concept Plan for the MLK Library that can be developed either with or
without private developments on top of the building, without inuencing the Library
Concept Plan itself.
2. Make a clear distinction between public and private.
3. Keep Mies: Mies. Or even better: improve Mies in a contemporary Miesian way.
Retain and adhere to the horizontality (and symmetry) of the Miesian principles.
4. Change the two cores next to the main entrance on G Street, radically: take the brick
walls away and replace them by glass with a marble (Miesian) pattern. Make these two
cores very public and transparent, with glass elevators and easy to walk stairs with
interesting sight lines. Utilizing escalators in these cores is also an option, depending
on the daily ow of visitors. In this way, the main entrance becomes not only more
welcoming but a focal point as well.
5. Return the faade to the original condition with one uniform plane. Insert new
glazing, so the entrance will also become visible from 9thStreet. By creating two
patios on this side of the building, the new Center of Innovation and Prototyping on
the lower ground oor can function as an extended ground oor on -1 that w
visible when entering the building.
6. Change the other two cores as well, with an entrance at G Place. Retain the
but remove everything from inside. Transform them into cores exclusively fo
and back of house operations with improved elevators, goods elevators and
and reserve one core for the potential access to and operations for the apart
7. Bring the loading and unloading to the lower ground oor by adjusting the
Make a staff entrance lobby and the optional apartment entrance lobby wit
mailboxes on street level with their entrances on G Place NW.
8. Provide patios (areaways) on the east, north and west sides of the building t
daylight and natural ventilation to the lower ground oor where staff is worthe archive and the logistics.
9. Remove the brick walls in the public realm around the building and make the
transparent so the activities of the library become more visible.
10. Clean up all the oors in the building by taking away all the solid walls. And k
original glass partitions on the D and K column lines.
These are our ideas we want to share with you. They are no dogmatic but startin
for a mutual collaboration. We would love to continue to work with you to help
realize your dream.
Francine Houben
Bringing two strong identities together ...
Martin Luther King Jr: I have a dream
Mies van der Rohe: less is more
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of A
most inuential civil rights activists
challenged injustice. His passionat
but nonviolent protests, helped to
awareness of social inequalities in A
leading to signicant political chan
Martin Luther King ignited passion
social change.
Mies van der Rohe is widely acknowas one of the 20th centurys greates
architects. By emphasizing open sp
using industrial materials in his buil
he helped dene modern architect
His architecture is based on classic
proportions and pure forms that ge
uninterrupted spaces.
... with a contemporary and human touch
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MMMM Principal 6: Change the other two cores as well, with an entrance
at G Place. Retain the brick walls, but remove everything from inside.Transform them into cores exclusively for staff and back of house
operations with improved elevators, goods elevators and stairs, and
reserve one core for the potential access to and operations for the
apartments
MMMM Principal 5:Return the faade to the original condition with
one uniform plane. Insert new glazing, so the entrance will also becomevisible from 9th Street. By creating two patios on this side of the
building, the new Center of Innovation and Prototyping on the lower
ground oor can function as an extended ground oor on -1 that will be
visible when entering the building
MMMM Principal 3:Keep Mies: Mies. Or even better: improve Mies in a
contemporary Miesian way. Retain and adhere to the horizontality (and
symmetry) of the Miesian principles
MMMM Principal 4:Change the two cores next to the main entrance on
G Street, radically: take the brick walls away and replace them by glass
with a marble (Miesian) pattern. Make these two cores very public and
transparent, with glass elevators and easy to walk stairs with interesting
sight lines. Utilizing escalators in these cores is also an option, depending
on the daily ow of visitors. In this way, the main entrance becomes notonly more welcoming but a focal point as well
MMMM Principal 8:Provide patios (areaways) on the east, north and
west sides of the building to provide daylight and natural ventilation to
the lower ground oor where staff is working with the archive and thelogistics
MMMM Principal 9:Remove the brick walls in the public realm around
the building and make them transparent so the activities of the library
become more visible
MMMM Principal 10: Clean up all the oors in the building by
taking away all the solid walls. And keep the original glasspartitions on the D and K column lines
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Mecanoo Martinez+Johnson3
2.
3.
1.
listening, and gaming. There are several small meeting rooms on this oor of var
with glass walls, so the staff can monitor what is occurring in th e rooms. In the m
there will be space for parents/adults as part of the Adult Services, so they are c
their children, even if they are within different areas. In the northeast corner wil
Center for Adaptive Services. Staffs of these departments have their ofce spac
oor. Meeting rooms, team rooms and project rooms with transparent walls are
along the faade to be used by staff and/or visitors.
Introduce the Third Floor as the Reading Floor.This a more classical/tlibrary space with a lot of open book shelving and places to read, study, researc
a long wall totally lled with book shelving is the domain for the Executive Ofc
DCPL the Chief Librarian, direct support staff, and key senior administrators. On
corner is the Board Room for meetings of the Library Trustees. The west side is f
Business Operations and Library Service Administrative Ofces. A staffed rece
area provides access to the ofces, and seating is provided for visitors. The mult
meeting rooms are close to this desk. The Staff directly access the space throug
staff elevator and stairs that lead to the lobby on the ground oor at G Place and
Lounge and Staff Training Lab in the Roof pavilion and the Secret Garden.
Introduce the Fourth Floor as the History and Future Floor.At the wside, we combine the Black Studies Center and the Washingtonia collection. Bo
compact shelving close to their information desk. Exhibition space in the Lobby
oor is as visible as possible. It is also the Conference and Exhibition Floor with
exible meeting rooms in various sizes. With pre-function spaces, storage space
greenrooms and a kitchen and restrooms. With an oval 300-seat auditorium for
and performances next to the Mies restaurant on the southeast corner. Well con
with a special stair to the Mies Caf and roof garden. In this way the History and
Future Floor becomes a destination oor for library visitors as well as for visitors
conference center and the public Discovery Garden.
Introduce a new Roof and Garden Floor. An organic shaped horizontal gives shape to the use of the roof. There is a public Discovery Terrace in the sout
corner with seating elements, performing space, plants and owers, all well con
to the public elevators and stairs. Here is the Mies caf, well connected with a s
stair directly to the Mies restaurant below. There is also a Secret Garden in the n
corner: a garden with herbs, owers and berries. There will be an excellent terr
in front of the Staff Lounge that can be used during breaks or meal-time, all dire
accessible by the staff elevators (and cargo elevator) and stairs. Wouldnt it be n
have also the Staff Training Lab on this inspiring oor? The roof pavilion include
installations, but also the extra vertical space that is necessary for the height of
Auditorium.
1.
6. 7.
2.
4. 3.
5. 5.
2.
3.
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5.
1.
1.
2.
1.
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2.4.
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The lower ground oor as the Innovation Floor
1. Staff (collection management): 9,000 sf
2. Archive and loading dock: 20,600sf
3. Center for innovation and prototyping: 20,500sf
The ground oor as the City Market Floor
1. Main public entrance: 1,700 sf
2. Marketplace: 13,700 sf
3. Caf/coffee bar: 4,700 sf
4. Bookshop retail: 4,700 sf
5. adult services: 12,700 sf
6. staff entrance: 1,100 sf
7. Optional residential entrance: 1,100 sf
The Second Floor as the Educational Floor
1. Adult services: 18,050 sf
2. Childrens Hub: 16,000 sf
3. Center for adaptive services: 6,000 sf
4. Teen area: 10,000 sf
5. staff:7,200 sf
The Third Floor as the Reading Floor
1. Staff: 18,000 sf
2. Adult services : 38,900 sf
The Fourth Floor as the History and Future Floor
1. Meeting and events spaces: 24,970 sf
2. Washingtoniana & black studies: 19,660 sf
3. Caf / restaurant Mies: 5,200 sf
4. Staff: 7,000 sf
A new Roof and Garden Floor
1. Caf / restaurant Mies: 4,760 sf
2. Staff: 5,850 sf
3. Mechanical rooms: 13,200 sf
4. Roof garden: 20,300 sf
Just like society, libraries change constantly. Richard Reyes-Gavilan: When Mies
designed this building in the 1960s, libraries were largely transactional in nature.
You come in, you get a book, you leave. Almost half a century later, libraries aspire to
be more than just transactional spaces, they aspire to be transformational. They have
the ability to make profound differences in the lives of their users, especially the most
vulnerable populations who have few other options for acquiring knowledge.
We should design, adjust, and improve the building in a way that the building will
accommodate CHANGE, even unpredictable change.
In Mies van der Rohe architecture, you experience all oors rather equally. The ground
oor has a very generous height with impressive lighting for the perfect City Lobby.
The second, third, and fourth oors all have the same height. There is a lot of potential
for improving Floor A as a lower ground oor and to make use of the roof. These are our
suggestions:
Introduce the lower ground foor as the Innovation Floor. With on the southside classrooms and workshop spaces to build in, to rebuild in, to experiment in, and
even to make a mess and a lot of noise in. With an industrial concrete oor, and exible,
acoustic walls so the staff can adjust the spaces as many times as needed as part of the
innovation spirit. In the center, the stairs of the two cores transform in two tribunes or
stages: for informal debates, lectures, or just to sit and to chat. This oor does not have
to follow the strict regulations of the Mies Principles! The main part of this lower ground
oor is archival with compact shelving and storage space. Around it, directly facing the
patios are work spaces for the Collection Management: cataloging, processing, receiving,
and shipping of materials to the branch libraries, bookbinding, archiving. They are in
close proximity to the new loading dock on this oor. Also on this oor are the Facilities
Support and Central Supplies.
Introduce the ground foor as the City Market Floor. With a Welcome andSecurity Desk next to the security line, before entering the Market Place, the grand
welcoming area of the MLK Library will have clear sightlines to the two transparentcores, with two big media screens, that contain the public elevators and stairs. It is here
where you can nd the self-charge machines, the self-pick shelves, the displays with the
Librarys newest resources such as the latest titles, media and available e-downloads. In
the middle, between the two closed cores, we open up the Market Place to the North.
Entering the MLK Library, you can clearly see this informal auditorium space for music,
poetry and literature performances with a grand piano and northern daylight. On the
east and the west side are Adult Services, maybe the Popular Library with the newest
materials. Two retail spaces have terraces on the sunny side of G Street, using the
protection of the large canopy. One is a bookstore / caf like the local Kramerbooks and
Afterwords Cafe in Washington and one is a coffee / bar /restaurant like Theatre Caf
Floor in Rotterdam that is exible and interacts with the foyer space and activities in the
main Lobby.
Introduce the Second Floor as the Educational Floor.The east side is for theChildrens Hub. It provides space for collections, technology and other educational and
recreation resources, programs and technology for children from infancy to the age of 12.
The shelving is low so the staff has a good overview. And with iconic furniture elements
in the space, sometimes soft and colorful, resonating the age of the children it is meant
for. The Childrens Hub has an Early Literacy Space with their own computers. And a more
serious School Age Area and an enclosed Story Telling Room that is exible enough to be
also used for other activities. The Childrens Hub has its own toilets. On the west side,
with a view on the dynamics of the city, is the Teen Area for young adults ages 13-19 with
a digital media center and a homework center. There is space for video viewing, audio
natur
mech
exhau
Flood building with daylight and mixed-mode ventilation
Concept narrativeConcept for the layout of the next generation library
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Mecanoo Martinez+Johnson4
We studied many options for the composition of a grand ensemble: an oval
volume, a cross volume, a rectangular volume, a diagonal oating beam option.
Five considerations are important for us:
a. To keep the proportions of the horizontal Mies building, and not extend the building
vertically.
b. The urban change in the grid of G Street makes the southeast corner of the building
special.
c. Making a part of the roof public accessible, preferably the southeast corner.
d. The awareness that apartments will have another expression in the faade than th e
MLK Library: like lower ceiling heights, (individual) curtains and open windows.
e. Just as the library, we would like to make these apartments in a sust ainable way.
Looking at all these options, for now the diagonal oating beam looks promising to us for
many reasons. It is a modest solution; you almost do not experience it on street level, so italmost doesnt inuence the horizontal Mies composition. The diagonal creates space on
the sunny southeast Public Roof Terrace and to a sunny Secret Garden on the northwest
side for staff. And even part of this Secret Garden could be used for residential, in front of
the residential sky lobby.
The design of the residences
A separate residential core off of G Place NW brings residents to three levels of
apartments housed within an atrium space resplendent with natural light. Transparent
bridges and walkways connect the units within the atrium. The units are mixed as studio
apartments and one and two bedroom units per the suggested matrix.
European-based Mecanoo working in conjunction with American Martinez+Johnson has
developed a unit concept combining their respective cultures and experiences. Perhaps
most notably, the units receive light from two aspects, fronting onto the atrium as well
as the street. Composed of both open and discrete spaces, they all have a strong sense of
arrival. Areas requiring mechanical or plumbing are grouped in an internal zone. The living
spaces and bedrooms explore ideas of community and privacy as they can be separated
or combined by sliding partitions. The dining areas and kitchens have a European idea of
separation, but are scaled to American tastes with full sized appliances and standards.
All units meet Fair Housing requirements. For the apartment as well as for the library
the goal is a LEED Gold rating. This can be achieved by: sustainable, natural and cross
ventilation by introducing a half open atrium space in the central zone of the apartments,
sun protection by sliding louvers, moss sedum roof, solar panels on top of the atrium,
good insulation and acoustics. Study models mix used conceptWest corner on G Street
East corner 9th Street. A diagonal volume almost doesnt inuence the horizontal Mies composition
Concept narrativeHow to combine public and private? An ensemble of a library and residences?
The urban change in the grid of G Street makes the
south-east corner of the building special and offers a view
towards the city
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Library concept plan | Site plan (scale 1/128 = 1)
9ths
treet
G place
G street
10ths
treet
Section library concept plan Section library mixed use concept plan
MMMM Principal 1:Make a Librar y Concept Plan for the MLK Library that can be developed
either with or without private developments on top of the building, without inuencing theLibrary Concept Plan itself
MMMM Principal 2:Make a clear distinction between public and private
MMMM Principal 7:Bring the loading and unloading to the lower ground oor by adjusting the ramps. Make a staff entrancelobby and the optional apartment entrance lobby with mailboxes on street level with their entrances on G Plaza NW.
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Library concept plan | The innovation oor - lower ground oor (level A) (scale 1/32 = 1)
Tribunes as seating for informal lec
Informal lextures
Staff ofces
0 10 20 5
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C E N T E R F O R I N N O V A T I O N & P R OTO T Y P I N G
loading bay
storage
facilities support and central supply collection management
patiopatio
patio patio
storagestorage
back of house corridor
A R C H I V E S
(compact shelving)
informallectures
informallectures
classroom
digital learning
meeting room co-working
lab
lab
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Library concept plan | The educational oor - level 2 (scale 1/32 = 1)
Individual study / fac
Early childhood litera
Lounging
T E E N A R E A
A D A P T I V E S E R V I C E S
homeworkcenter
lounge
digital media
servicepoint
servicepoint
servicepoint
C H I L D R E NS
H U B
exhibitionexhibition
study/reading/meeting spaces
craft programe
early childhood literacy space
school age area
story time area
individual study
children/teenage/adaptive services staff
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Library concept plan | The reading oor - level 3 (scale 1/32 = 1)0 10 20 5
Service point
Study places
Study and tutoring ro
A D U L T S E R V I C E S A D U L T S E R V I C E S
library system operations staff meeting rooms executive ofces
boardroom llibrarytrustees
chieflibrarian
shelving
exhibition
study and tutoring rooms
shelving
group spaces group spaces
quiet spacesquiet spaces
bookwall bookwall bookwall
staff
desk
bookwall
service
point
service
point
service
point
individualstudy
individualstudy
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Library concept plan | The history and future oor - level 4 (scale 1/32 = 1)0 10 20 5
auditorium
Mies Restaurant
stair to roof
F O Y E R
M E E T I N G & E V E N T
S P A C E
cloakroom
storage
MLK painting
green room/ dressign rooms/ storage/ pre-function
W A S H I N G T O N I A
B L A C K S T U D I E S
reader area
reader area
meetingandeventspace
exhibtion
Mies van der Rohe lounge
meetingandeventspace
Martin Luther King painting
Auditorium
Restaurant with heal
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Library concept plan | The roof garden oor - level 5 (scale 1/32 = 1)0 10 20 5
auditorium(open to below)
secretgarden
secret
garden
discoverygarden(public)
public hall
mechanical room
mechanical room
barbar
caf
staff lounge
staff training lab
back of house corridor
The Public Discovery
The Secret Garden fo
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Library concept plan | East-west section (scale 1/32 = 1)0 10 20 50ft
MecanooMartinez+Johnson13
MMMM Principal 4:Change the two cores next to the main entrance on G Street, radically: take the brick
walls away and replace them by glass with a marble (Miesian) pattern. Make these two cores very public and
transparent, with glass elevators and easy to walk stairs with interesting sight lines. Utilizing escalators in
these cores is also an option, depending on the daily ow of visitors. In this way, the main entrance becomes
not only more welcoming but a focal point as well
MMMM Principal 8:Provide patios (areaways) on the east, north and west sides of the building to providedaylight and natural ventilation to the lower ground oor where staff is working with the archive and the
logistics
MMMM Principal 9:Remove the brick walls in the public realm around the building and make them
transparent so the activities of the library become more visible
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Library concept plan | North-south section (scale 1/32 = 1)0 10 20 50ft
G streetG place
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MMMM Principal 3:Keep Mies: Mies. Or even better: improve Mies in a contemporary Miesian way.
Retain and adhere to the horizontality (and symmetry) of the Miesian principles library become more visible
MMMM Principal 10: Clean up all the oors in the building by taking away all the solid walls.
And keep the original glass partitions on the D and K column lines
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Library concept plan | Parking oor (level B) (s cale 1/32 = 1)0 10 20 5
bike parkingbike parking access staff optionalresidential
access
MecanooMartinez+Johnson15
1. Car and bycicle parking garage
- library use: 47 parking places
- residents: 79 parking places
1
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Library mixed use concept plan | Site plan ( scale 1/128 = 1)MecanooMartinez+Johnson16
500 100 2
The urban change in the grid of G Street makes the southeast corner of the building special
9ths
treet
G place
G street
10thstreet
Section library concept plan Section library mixed use concept plan
MMMM Principal 1:Make a Librar y Concept Plan for the MLK Library that can be developed
either with or without private developments on top of the building, without inuencing theLibrary Concept Plan itself
MMMM Principal 2:Make a clear distinction between public and private
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Library mixed use concept plan | The roof garden oor - level 5 (scale 1/32 = 1)0 10 20 5
Auditorium(open to below)
secret
garden
secretgarden
barbar
publicdiscovery
terrace
public hall
mechanical room
mechanical room
escape corridor residental
escape corridor residental
mechanical roomstaff lounge
staff training lab
back of house corridor
MecanooMartinez+Johnson17
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Library mixed use concept plan | Mixed use- level 7 (scale 1/32 = 1)0 10 20 5
discovery garden
secret garden
atrium
MecanooMartinez+Johnson18
A. efciency (studio app
B. 1 bedroom appartmen
C. 2 bedrooms appartme
Level 6
Level 8
Level 7
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9thStreet
0 10 20 50ft
MecanooMartinez+Johnson20
Library mixed use concept plan | East-west section - G place (scale 1/32 = 1)
MMMM Principal 7: Bring the loading and unloading to the lower ground oor by adjusting the ramps.
Make a staff entrance lobby and the optional apartment entrance lobby with mailboxes on street level
with their entrances on G Place NW.
MMMM Principal 8: Provide patios (areaways) on the east, north and west sides of the building to provide
daylight and natural ventilation to the lower ground oor where staff is working with the archive and the
logistics.
MMMM Principal 9: Remove the brick walls in the public realm around the building and make them
transparent so the activities of the library become more visible.
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mecanooarchitecten
Oude Delft 203, 2611 HD Delft
The Netherlands
phone +31 (0)15 279 81 00www.mecanoo.nl
contact [email protected]
MARTINEZ+JOHNSON
ARCHITECTURE
1412 Eye Street, NWWashington, DC 20005
phone (202) 333-4480www.mjarchitecture.com
contact [email protected]