Why build a library
today? In the case of the West Hollywood Library, that's literally the $64
million question. Answers are many and multifaceted. The facility itself is a
hive of activity and bold design moves. Seen from the Pacific Design Center
across the street, the flowing white three-story building, shared with the City
Council, is already an ipso facto landmark. It's also part of a bigger picture,
anchoring the first phase of Johnson Favaro's master plan for West Hollywood
Park. Demolishing the former library, a 1960 structure by Edward H. Fickett,
and appropriating parking lots essentially doubled green space to 7 acres in
one of the busiest parts of Los Angeles. So, in the center of the community,
Steve Johnson and Jim Favaro conceived, well, a community center. Books can
create a public gathering place, an antidote to computer-generated isolation.
They're anything but dated. "If we could build libraries and schools for
the rest of our lives, we'd be thrilled," Johnson says. "They're the
biggest investment a municipality makes."
- “L.A.Story,” Interior
Design Magazine, February 2012
Images via Interior
Design.
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