Oakland Public Library

This project organizes the library programs around a central reading hall of suspended platforms, rather than a conventional reading room enclosed by walls, this central communal space consists of individual and open platforms, that provide a range of scales of collective space and more private study areas. These landings are connected by a sequence of ramps that weave in and out of the main book stack volumes to the north and south. The entire ramp and landing system is suspended from a truss system above the library programs are stacked on the south edge of the building in an irregular manner to create variable overhangs and exterior terraces which therefore act as a giant marquee within the library. The building envelope consists of a uniform expanded metal mesh punctuated by clear spans of glazed curtain wall that provide views back to the city.