Steven Ehrlich Architects
Robertson Branch Library
Los Angeles, California
“With its pre-weathered copper-clad ‘ship's hull’ protruding over the sidewalk, the Library boldly announces its presence on the street, becoming a beacon for the community on this busy street.”
Steven Ehrlich
Photo: Tom Bonner
The Robertson Branch library is situated on a busy Los Angeles strip, where apartments and commercial buildings clamor for attention.
Photo: arcspace
Photo: arcspace
Through the Los Angeles Cultural Arts Commission Arts in Public Places Program, the tile facade is used as a billboard for witticism and literary quotations to reaffirm the importance and presence of the written word for a public library.
Photo: arcspace
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of Library.”
Jorge Luis Borges
Steven Ehrlich broke the monotony of the basic rectangular footprint with a bold element that resembles the hull of a boat, which soars above the otherwise modest 2-story structure. This element acts as a library marketing device to increase public attendance, inviting patrons to read and gather.
Photo: Tom Bonner
Photo: Tom Bonner
Inside, this dramatic two-story volume serves as the central organizing element of the library. It contains a curving stairway crafted of steel and stone treads that draw visitors up to the second floor.
The hull pierces the library’s rectangular framework like a ship skewering a modernist block. The gracefully curved volume is energized by being slightly skewed on all three axes, heightening the counterpoint to the grids of floor plan and elevation. The long axis is not perpendicular to the street, but points toward downtown and the main library, symbolically connecting the branch with the greater metropolis.
Photo: Tom Bonner
Photo: Tom Bonner
Photo: arcspace
Photo: arcspace
The library sits on a very tight site, and approximately 3/4 of the ground plane was allocated for parking and vehicular access. As a result, the majority of the library is elevated to allow for a driveway and at-grade parking to occur underneath the main structure. Public spaces are located on the second floor which are in strong connection to the two-story hull. This synergy enlivens the simpler reading room spaces and physically connects the library user to the ground plane, side wall, street and community.
Photo: Tom Bonner
Photo: Tom Bonner
The building received the AIA/National American Library Association 2001 Award; Los Angeles AIA - 1998 Distinguished Building Award; Los Angeles Business Council 1998; LA Cultural Affairs Commission 1997
Sketch courtesy Steven Ehrlich Architects
Drawing courtesy Steven Ehrlich Architects
Plans First and Second Floor
Drawing courtesy Steven Ehrlich Architects
Section
Total area: 11,000 square feet
Completed: 1997
Los Angeles Public Library Robertson Branch
Owner/Client: City of Los Angeles
Architect: Steven Ehrlich Architects
Structural Engineer: William Koh
Landscape Architect: BLS Environmental Design
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineer: Kim Casey & Harase, Inc.
Civil Engineer: Ashba Engineers, Ltd.
Lighting Design: PHA Lighting Design
Contractor: Allee Construction:
Art Consultant: Erika Rothenberg
Photographed by Tom Bonner
May 26, 2008