The copper-clad South Mountain Community Library is capped by five glazed volumes that admit daylight and serve as lanterns at night.
The copper rainscreen incorporates downspouts to manage water runoff, and it conceals the structure that supports the building’s lateral loads.
Expansive glazing admits light through the north façade.
View from the southwest.
Canopies over the entrances, including the one into the children’s courtyard, provide shade to soften the transition between the harsh Phoenix sunlight and the building interior.
First-floor reading room with view into lantern colume.
Staircase to second floor reading rooms.
View from staircase landing of first- and second-floor reading rooms.
Fully glazed interior walls connect it to the main library space. The public library that occupies the ground level is capped by the second-level college library. The two are connected with stairs clad in water-jet-cut aluminum.
The warm wood confines of the archive room fill the south corner of the building’s second floor.
The glazed volumes that top the building illuminate the main reading rooms as well as some enclosed spaces, including a classroom.
Second-floor plan.
First-floor plan.
Section drawing.
