Over the years following World War II, in which Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) rose to prominence, its architecture was largely identified with an astute deployment of steel, concrete, and glass using a Miesian vocabulary. Now the firm is showing it can exercise the same finesse with timber as the structural solution. This natural material composes 80 percent of the new Billie Jean King Main Library in Long Beach, California—named for the legendary tennis player who grew up there and presided over the building’s dedication last September. The design solution—a long, rectilinear framework of glass and reddish Douglas fir—offers a fitting homage to the athlete famed for the power of her serves and the efficiency of her ground strokes and volleys.
Wood made sense for the new two-story, 93,500-square-foot building, explain Paul Danna and José Luis Palacios, design partner and design director, respectively, in the Los Angeles office of SOM, since the city wanted to keep intact an existing underground parking garage on the site. A timber framework for the library could sit lightly on the garage’s concrete columns, and by reusing 85 percent of that existing structure, material waste for the new project would be reduced by 65 percent. On top of this sustainability strategy (see chart below) is the advantage that the warm tones of the natural material avoid the cold, institutional look of so many contemporary public buildings. “Wood adds instant character to the complex,” says Palacios.
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