Portola Branch Library
Architects & Firms
San Francisco, California
Program: A single-story, 6,300-square-foot public library on a residential street, with stacks and periodicals along the south wall and a children's room, a program room, and staff offices along the north. A side garden borders the children's room and program room, which also has a separate entrance from the outside.
Design concept and solution: To integrate a civic building into a residential context, the architects wanted to strike a balance between exposing and obscuring: much as a house does, the library brings in light without fully revealing the activity within. On the southern facade, a sequence of tall "shutters" resembling the pages of open books offers shade and privacy, while tall windows tucked behind the folds bring in a play of daylight that changes throughout the day. The shades' interior bays double as private reading spaces that together form a kind of indoor porch. A stretch of skylights spans the length of the library and divides the public program from staff spaces. To underscore the residential motif, the architects clad the library with shiplap wood siding, which they also used on the interior in rust red and in a natural wood stain.
Design Architect:
Stoner Meek/Noll & Tam Joint Venture Architects
3040 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110; ph 415-543-5505; fax 415-543-5585
729 Heinz Avenue, Suite 7, Berkeley, CA 94710; ph 510-649-8295; fax 510-649-3008
Location: 380 Bacon Street, San Francisco, CA 94134
Completion Date: February 2009
Total construction cost: $3.4 million
PeopleOwner: San Francisco Public Library, City of San Francisco Design Architect Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit: Interior designer Engineer(s) Mechanical/Plumbing: UESF Engineers, Inc., 315 Bay Street, Suite 301, San Francisco, CA 94133; (510) 763-4880 Electrical: POLA, Inc., 337 Seventeenth Street, Suite 213, Oakland, CA 94612; (510) 452-8415 Consultant(s) Lighting: Alice Prussin Lighting Design, 931 Pardee Street, Berkeley, CA 94710; (510) 525-3670 Acoustical: Walsh Norris, 225 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 391-2166 Other: Telecom: Tee Com, 760 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102; 510-337-2800 General contractor Photographer(s) |
ProductsExterior cladding Wood: cedar wood siding painted EIFS, ACM, or other: Plaster Cement Stucco Roofing Windows Glazing Skylights: Naturalite metal framed skylights Doors Wood doors: Western Oregon Door Interior finishes Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: Library Shelving by Ross McDonald Paints and stains: Kelly-Moore Special surfacing: Roulon acoutical wood ceiling Floor and wall tile: floor tile Dal Tile Resilient flooring: Forbo Marmoleum Furnishings Reception furniture: Circulation Service Desk by Sotirkos Chairs: Agati, David Edward, Neinkamper, Midlands, ICF, GF Tables: Agati Upholstery: Sina Pearson Lighting Exterior: Exterior Vert, Luminis Controls: Watstopper |
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