UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI _____________ , 20 _____ I,______________________________________________, hereby submit this as part of the requirements for the degree of: ________________________________________________ in: ________________________________________________ It is entitled: ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Approved by: ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ Coventry Mediatheque A Place for Access, Action, Interaction, and Creation A Thesis Submitted to The Division of Research and Advanced Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE In the School of Architecture and Interior Design Of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning Of the University of Cincinnati 2003 By Julie D. Engstrom B.S. Architecture, University of Cincinnati, 2001. Committee Chair: David Niland Abstract Even as networked digital technology allows for more sophisticated methods of information storage, access, communication, and creation of new works, it remains true that people are the strongest element in, and medium of, their own learning. Historically the activity of human learning as characterized by access to collective knowledge has been formalized and expanded upon in specific types of buildings and institutions over centuries, most strongly by the library. In the multi-layered hypertext of our society, the human being emerges as the most critical medium. Human learning is a timeless phenomenon staged currently in the realm of the digital and physical worlds simultaneously. The strength of today’s ideal library, as both place and institution, is that it consciously acknowledges people as its most important medium by utilizing characteristics of human spatial consciousness to relate the digital and physical worlds to one another. Coventry Mediatheque Engstrom Coventry Mediatheque Engstrom Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to my parents, Stephen and Marie Engstrom, whose love of learning in its many forms continues to inspire me. Their support of me and my education has been generous and whole-hearted. For the multitude of gifts to my life, including reviews of this work, I can only thank them by aspiring to be worthy of their admiration. I am also indebted to members of the academic community at the School of Architecture and Interior Design at the University of Cincinnati, especially David L. Niland for his guidance on this project. Many professors contributed to my design skills and understanding of architecture throughout my time here, and I thank them for that gift of knowledge. Teachers at Beaumont School continue to influence my life by their teaching even six years after I departed for college. John-Michael Langa, Sr. Lucia Vasko, Ellen Carreras, Kim Bissett, Carolyn Lindstrom, Pam Buzalka, and others gave me a great well-rounded base for my education and instilled in me a strong desire for discovery. I would also like to thank my family who has supported me from around the country and my friends who have worked and played alongside me. Beth Mennel and Amy Engstrom, my sisters who are my friends, have always been role models for their kid sister. The Hocevar families have given me unconditional love and support. Lucy Kirchner is my role model for profound creativity and the inexhaustible joy of life. Liz Galvin has become another sister and I thank her for the use of her brain and her laughter. Too numerous to name are my friends in the Architecture studio, in the rest of DAAP, and my friends from the outside world, who have all helped me in their own unique ways, which include everything from silliness in studio to phone calls and good luck e-mails from halfway around the world. I thank you. Coventry Mediatheque Engstrom Table of Contents List of Illustrations.................................................................................................2 Illustration Credits.................................................................................................4 Introduction............................................................................................................8 Libraries and Learning .......................................................................................14 The Library evolves as a place of learning ............................................................. 14 Outstanding Libraries of the 20th Century .............................................................. 19 The Current Context of Human Learning ........................................................22 The Dominant Paradigm: Digital Networking in The Informational Age.............. 22 The Network ........................................................................................................... 22 Access is the key to the Network............................................................................ 24 Physical world and Digital World: Learning at Intersections................................. 28 Realms of Learning in the Digital World ............................................................... 33 Identity .................................................................................................................... 36 Place and Placeless-ness ......................................................................................... 37 Creativity and Learning .......................................................................................... 41 The Proposal.........................................................................................................45 Analysis of the Design in Terms of the Thesis...................................................47 The Site .................................................................................................................58 The Building .........................................................................................................69 Design Drawings...................................................................................................80 Bibliography .........................................................................................................83 1 Coventry Mediatheque Engstrom List of Illustrations Figure 1: “We may well go to the moon, but that’s not very far. The greatest distance we have to cover still lies within us.” -Charles de Gaulle Figure 2: An interpretation of Plato's Academy by C. Frommel Figure 3: Plan of the Forum in Pompeii Figure 4: Boullee's Library concept. Figure 5: Reading room at Viipuri Library, Alvar Aalto. Figure 6: Central Space of Exeter Academy Library, Louis Kahn Figure 7: Schematic plan diagram of Exeter Library, with shaded area indicating resource area. Figure 8: Central area of Black Diamond Library Figure 9: Schematic plan diagram of Black Diamond Library, with shaded area indicating resource area. Figure 10: MCI IP Network as one example of the global communication networks. Figure 11: A representation of the networked digital world. Figure 12: Jeremy Bentham’s pan-opticon prison. Figure 13: Sir Norman Foster, Reichstag Dome. Figure 14: Piazza San Marco in Venice is a mass of intersections. Figure 15: Students in a dynamic learning environment. Figure 16: Sendai Mediatheque, Sendai, Japan. Figure 17: Easy Everything Internet Cafe, Spain Figure 18: Easy Everything Internet Cafe, Holland. Figure 19: Placeless access can be both a benefit and a detriment to learning. Figure 20: Students interact in the public atrium space in the Peter Eisenmann-designed Aronoff Center for Design and Art at the University of Cincinnati. Figure 21: Children getting creative at The Clubhouse. Figure 22: Creative expression contributes to learning. Figure 23: The physical and digital worlds are simultaneously present through the human medium. Figure 24: Diagram representing access. Figure 25: Diagram representing filtration. Figure 26: Diagram representing intersection. Figure 27: Diagram representing serendipity. Figure 28: Diagrams representing flexibility. Figure 29: Diagram representing event experience. Figure 30: Diagram representing organization. Figure 31: Diagram of the Heights area of greater Cleveland showing cities and other notable features. 2 Coventry Mediatheque Engstrom Figure 32: View from the President Garfield Memorial at Lakeview Cemetery, showing downtown Cleveland and Lake Erie to the west-northwest, along with Frank Gehry's Peter B. Lewis building at Case Western Reserve University visible to the lower right. Figure 33: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Figure 34: Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra. Figure 35: Diagram showing characteristics of venues local to the building site. Figure 36: Centrum movie theater, across Euclid Heights Blvd. from the building site. Figure 37: The current Coventry Library, branch of the Cleveland Heights/University Heights Public Library. The proposed Mediathque will complement the usage of the current library, a historical landmark. Figure 38: Coventry School, showing playground. Figure 39: Mixed-use building at corner of Mayfield Road and Coventry Road. Figure 40: Streetscape of Coventry Village Business District. Figure 41: Detail of retail building. Figure 42: Restaurant in Coventry Village Business District. Figure 43: Winking Lizard Tavern is one of the long-standing attractions of the neighborhood. Figure