what they’re learning. This library, though,
teaches them to have a little levity. For
starters, there are the three levels of stacks,
constructed from panels of gridded metal
and suspended in mid-air. A wide space
beneath takes what is sometimes referred
to by architects as ‘dead cat space’ – the often
useless spatial pockets that can appear in
even the most carefully constructed building
- and gives it purpose. Meant to draw the
attention, ‘it’s a space which is designed
to be seen from a relaxed sitting position’,
Tschapeller says. It is precisely the absence
of typical library motifs, such as shelves
firmly secured to the ground, that makes
this interior such a brave addition to the
architecturally developing campus.
The only other library Tschapeller
has designed is the Sigmund Freud library
in Vienna, and that experience inspired
Tschapeller to think more deeply about
library science. His firm briefly proposed
organising books accidentally, ‘like a system
of serendipity,’ in which books were ‘placed
according to the liking of the people who
are reading.’ But the students at Cornell
needed something a little bit more practical,
and so, while the books do hang, they’re
shelved and organised according to the
standard Library of Congress Classification
system. The building also includes private
workspaces, a roof terrace/exhibition space
that overlooks the local landscape, a reading
room, a fabrication facility, a seminar room
and staff offices. Balancing the design of
the spaces and their varying requirements
of technical performance was not an easy feat.
Enter Transsolar, the climate engineers
brought in to provide energy efficiency
and ensure comfortable working conditions.
Because the architect’s emphasis was on
light, transparency and weightlessness, and
the windows that bring warm sunlight into
the space were such a crucial element, sun-
shading and visible ductwork weren’t ideal.
So Transsolar installed discreet exhaust
systems to push out hot air that would
otherwise stagnate, and radiant flooring
that heats in winter and cools in summer.
It’s an unusual project, but that’s part of
the point. Making a strong theoretical stance
in a smaller building next to a sprawling
OMA complex would be a challenge for any
architect, but it’s one that Tschapeller fully
embraced. Asked whether he was worried
that skirt-wearing people might be deterred
from heading up the staircases to the higher,
gridded levels, the architect acknowledged
that yes, they had discussed this, but
ultimately emphasised his dedication to
the concept over, perhaps, ideal use. ‘The
focus of the mezzanine shelving system
is the books, not the humans or readers,’
he says. ‘The books are the main presence
and humans are in between them’. ∂
tschapeller.com∑ 143
Architecture
ABOVE, THE STACKS ARE
LINED ON ONE SIDE BY
A ROW OF INDIVIDUAL
STUDY CARRELS
LEFT, AN OMA-DESIGNED
VOLUME WITH A
STAMPED ALUMINIUM
PANEL CEILING, AND THE
YELLOW-BRICK RAND
HALL, TRANSFORMED BY
TSCHAPELLER INTO THE
LIGHT-FILLED LIBRARY