Ballard, a community of Seattle, is much like Cardiff and Leucadia in that the residents are very passionate about being from Ballard and keeping their identity. I've been to Ballard, it's where all the cool records stores and coffee shops are. There are FREE BALLARD bumper stickers on every car. Apparently they have been trying to succeed from Seattle for some time now.
Above is the Ballard public library, built for $11 million dollars it is 15,000 square feet, has a 3,600 ft2 neighborhood service center, 18,000 square feet of below-grade parking and the roof has turf on it winning and AIA Green award. It cost $9 million less than the Encinitas city library.
Leucadia Blog: What Color is the Encinitas Library?
By the way, the Rem Koolhaas Seattle library is incredible.
That last Library looks like Battlestar Gallatica! Yikes
ReplyDeleteBlast Off
I'll take our $30 million dollar dog turd anyday to the battlestar.
ReplyDeleteOne point to Fred. Fred- its the location that creates the view. All any design needed to do was provide windows to the west and you would enjoy the same view.
The Architect should have just put in the a clear window along the entire west side of the library to maximize the view.
It better be really nice for $30,000,000 dollars, and it better not smell like dog turds.
Anon8:24- Woof,woof. WOOF,Woof!! Woofwooofwooofwooofwooof!!! Grrrrr woof!!!
ReplyDeleteGood call 8:21!, Ballard Star Galactica is great looking (for Seattle)! But how many would caress that modern monster here?
ReplyDeleteAnd if JP's blog were around 5 years ago WE might have enjoyed the quest to topping ALL other green libraries with our own innovations. But the only voice I heard promoting that at the time was Bob Nanninga at city meetings. Indeed, many green aspects are employed with our new library and it's unfortunate they are not announced on the Encinitas Library link JP has provided.
Re: 8:24pm
FYI We fought hard for the Cornish Dr. location and won. I was the Peon on the Encinitas Library Committee with the Father of Encinitas: Bob Bonde, former Mayor Sheila Cameron, the late Jack Orr (yes, the late Jack Orr) and the pearl of the Pacific: the late Ida Lou Coley. "Proposition H" was the push to put the Library on Cornish Drive and not Quail Gardens Drive. (I wanted to design blue and yellow signs and call it the "Preporation H" initiative because of the painful opposition supporting Quail Gardens Dr. You can imagine the slogans. But I was overuled.)
Prior to that and nearly a decade ago, I was on the Library Task Force chaired by Mayor Lou Aspel. At that time, the Cornish Dr. location wasn't even on the radar, just a twinkle in ONE person's eyes who sat patiently on the sidelines: The late Lynn Love. She attended every meeting but wasn't allowed to speak! I was the only person to listen to her and realize her angst (but admitedly, at that point in time I believed the Academy to be the best location.)
Three areas that WERE on the table then were: The Academy, Quail Gardens Dr. and the old Target location.
But after a groundswell of consideration and community input the vote went to the people and I believe we got the best location: The one with the view AND next to a major public transit center.
As for "the architect should have": The architect in fact did put in clear windows along the enitre west side of the library maximizing the view. You'll like it.
It's pretty amazing that in the early 60's "Vulcan Square" (now Encnintas City Center) chose to put the parking lot before the ocean view. Also the previous library on Cornish Dr. (that was even higher in altitude than our new Library) provided no ocean view at all with it's design.
And I'm not sure how the price of the library jumped from $20 million to $30 million on this blog but the 10 m Mossy mess is still a seperate issue in my quiet, copious opinion.
Just got my Sony Reader Digital Book for Christmas. In the next few years every book ever written will have been scanned and available for download over a computer. Is this library prepared for the future. If not, those book shelves may be only serving to block the ocean view.
ReplyDeleteMaybe 30 mill includes the financing. The library is going to be nice, but it could have been nice for a lot less. Maybe there would have been enough left over to spend on L101 street scape!
ReplyDeleteLibraries will always be needed. Just because you have a digital book doesn't mean everyone will want one. God help us when we start complaining about a library when there is no much more waste in this city. And I haven't even seen it, as I am not in the in crowd that got a tour.
ReplyDeleteThe Seattle library would obviously be out of context in Encinitas. The Seattle library isn't even the tallest building on that block while it would dwarf our entire town. The interior blows your mind. A must see next time you are there.
ReplyDeleteJerome's Stocks' has a puff piece that just came out in Encinitas First, published through Encinitas Chamber of Commerce, which is heavily subsidized, including at least $94,000 for the Chamber's recent move.
ReplyDeleteThis relocation, downtown, was NOT, supported by the volunteers who "man" the information center because of the obvious parking problems, made worse by planned mixed use development at Pacific Station and Pacific View.
On Page 5, in "Mayor Stocks' Outlook 2008" he says, "The library is expected to be open by the end of Feb. 2008 and will provide 30,000 sq. feet reading, meeting, research, computer and ocean viewing opportunities for the 63,000 residents of our community. It replaces a 4,000 sq. ft. library built in the early 1960s . . ."
What I'd like to know is, if it took "20 years to agree upon, fund and finally build and operate," why couldn't Jerome have given direction into it being built green? WHY did we need an 850% increase in space? Were any surveys taken, studies made, to see if the library was overcrowded? Or was this just a vanity project to glorify the ego of Jerome and crew?
The vote the public was allowed came after a petition. It was not over the size, the green features or whether or not we wanted another huge structure. It was ONLY to determine the location.
Stocks should now have to declare the piece in Encinitas First as an advertising contribution through the Chamber, as subsidized by the City. It looks like and reads like a conflict of interest, promoting Stocks in an election year.
I heard that crooked bastard proudly proclaims himself to be the adopted stepchild of Duke Cunningham. May he end up the same.
ReplyDelete"God help us when we start complaining about a library when there is no much more waste in this city."
ReplyDelete12 million dollars isn't a lot of waste?
People, you can still like the library and recognize that we spent too much of our budget on the library.
People, you can still like the library and recognize that the library is not a green building. Only for a few die hard extremists is liking the library a problem. For them this will mean a hard look at personal hypocrisy.