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STANFORD
UNIVERSITY
AUXILIARY LIBRARY III
CALIFORNIA
Photography: Jay Graham
Photography
CMACN 2005 Awards Edition, “CMU Profiles in Architecture”
Jury
Comments: All of us are familiar with the
suburban office/warehouse type. This project dispels the
notion that this type cannot exercise civic responsibility
in order to accomplish its intended purpose. Smooth capped
and linteled split faced walls, artfully perforated for
light and view, enclose the perimeter office block, while
clerestory light enters the loft processing area from
beneath the sweeping overhang. No joint is left to chance.
Each move builds on the previous to complete the
project’s promise.
This facility provides high-density archival storage for
special books and rare collections of Stanford University,
capable of storing 2.88 million volumes in a low-temperature
and low-humidity environment. In addition to the storage
areas, the program also includes a processing room, delivery
area, reading room, staff lounge, and offices. Future phases
will eventually quadruple the storage capacity of the
facility.
The value of the collection meant that risk management informed almost every aspect of the design. In response, the design team collaborated with representatives from the insurance industry and local fire authorities on a wide range of issues, including site layout, envelope detailing, and fire detection and suppression systems.
The design team recognized that the distance of the facility from Stanford, and its location in an anonymous industrial park, could work against staff retention; therefore, the creation of a pleasant and welcoming human environment took on paramount importance. Outer and inner gardens provide a buffer against the surrounding industrial park and bring a sense of intimacy to the facility, while the processing area and adjacent staff rooms are characterized by generous natural light and warm colors. Abundant views to the outside emphasize either the distant hills or the adjacent gardens.
The exterior palette, consisting mostly of buff-colored split face concrete masonry units with smooth face accent bands, both ties this building into the natural hues of the costal hills, and brings some of the character of the distant Stanford campus to this new, and very important, outpost.
ARCHITECT:
MBT
Architecture
185 Berry Street, Suite 5100
San Francisco, CA 94107
Paul
Harney, AIA, LEED
Principal-in-Charge
Stan
Vistica
Project Architect
Mona
Ying
Benjamin Regnier
Design Team
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER:
SEI, Inc.
GENERAL CONTRACTOR:
Devcon Construction, Inc.
MASONRY CONTRACTOR:
John Jackson Masonry
BLOCK PRODUCER:
Calstone Company, Inc.
OWNER:
Stanford University
