Case Studies: Phoenix Central Library

bruder DWL architects

With a total area of 280,000 sq ft spread out over five floors and basic rectangular form, the Phoenix Public Library is outwardly an air-conditioned big box. However, underpinning this simple form is a design wed to the hot-dry desert at 33° N latitude. Facades and roof are designed to control solar heat gains, a significant factor in the climate; building faces were conceived mindful of sun angles and sun path, these factors and orientation informing development.

Context and climate have the capacity to shape design. In fact, the design team initially studied an Adobe concept - a library with thick walls and small windows - a nod to the lessons from traditional vernacular architecture of the region. An architecture of thermal mass and minimal openings has advantages in the desert. However, such a strategy did not yield good contact with the outdoors, and the team wanted to capitalize on vistas of Phoenix's mountains enjoyed at the library site. The library design had to limit solar gains and glare while admitting light and views.

The design resolution ultimately recognized that it is possible to let in light on the facades where it can be tempered and controlled, but it is not feasible to harness light on all orientations. For instance, at Phoenix's latitude (and others for that matter) low sun angles, characteristic in the rising and setting sun, are the most difficult to control. Neither overhangs nor vertical fins fully block the intense sun on building elevations facing east or west. This fact shaped the design.