[ Kongats Architects ] Hespeler Library

The Hespeler Library addition and renovation in the Town of Hespeler, Ontario (now part of Cambridge) wraps a 1922 Carnegie Library in this historically significant textile mill town within an elegant and generous glass case. The new building envelope is contemporary in its materiality with modulated ceramic frit patterns on glass that weave around the building to create varying degrees of transparency that respond to interior activities and views. The design pays homage to both the community’s historic textile past and its current technology-driven service industries while showcasing the Carnegie Library as an important piece of the town’s history.

“This is a clear, elegant solution to the problem of expanding an existing historic building. Old and new co-exist in an unexpected way through conceiving of the new as a kind of “wrapper,” rather than a separate building. The fine scale of the texture of this “wrapper” defers to the character of the existing building. At the same time, the wrapper in not neutral, but is composed of several layers that change to achieve varying levels of transparency.”
-Adam Yarinsky, Juror for the Canadian Architect 2004 Awards of Excellence. (Hespeler Library.) Canadian Architect. December 2004.

Photo Credits: Ben Rahn/A-Frame Inc. Steve Payne.

from  kongatsarchitects