Description

Constructed in 2006 in Hyde Park, on a burnt-out site of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the Miriam Matthews Hyde Park Branch Library exemplifies the opportunity for architecture in the rebuilding of a community. One of 72 branch libraries in the Los Angeles network, this library is named after the first African American librarian in California whose 33-year tenure in the Los Angeles Library system from 1927-1960 was dedicated to the preservation of black history.

With the exception of staff offices and a meeting space, this small branch library consists of one open space for adults and children. Divisions of space are made through the energetic manipulation of the 6.7 m high ceiling and sectional devices rather than walls serve to delineate boundaries. These sectional changes are articulated as a medley of forms and materials that are subsequently expressed on the exterior. The composition of slanted and skewed shapes is anchored against the rhythmic expression of the structural supports and mechanical ductwork.

The library engages the intersection of Florence and Van Ness Streets with a bold, sculptural presence expressed in cement board, glass and copper-tinted metal. Natural light filters through the clerestory windows in horizontal bands high above the level of the street in acknowledgement of the need for security and problems such as drive-by shooting. The large expanses of the otherwise blank exterior facade are animated by the constant changing of materials in scale and direction as well as the vibrant mural of artist Robin Strayhorn. The ceramic mural titled “Transformation Through Education”, which includes tiles made by the children of the local elementary schools, is integrated into both the front and back facades.

A simple rectangle in plan, the library with its four different facades is volumetrically a composition imbued with a sense of rhythm. An exuberant array of sawtooth roof forms, beams, ducts and awning supports alludes to a syncopated movement both on the interior and the exterior. The resulting work with its multi-layered, multi-textured forms is a hybrid of many ideas.

The building received an LEED Silver rating for sustainability and it improved upon its service most notably through increases in volumes from 25,000 to 40,000 and a tripling of computer stations. The goal was to provide a library that “is in complete response to the people who occupy it”, as architect Craig Hodgetts stated. In the first year after completion, statistics showed that patronage and book circulation tripled from previous use.

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Originally published in: Nolan Lushington, Wolfgang Rudorf, Liliane Wong, Libraries: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2016.