The Garden of Youthful Imagination

By Stephen Kelly, managing editor

The Imaginarium Garden combines the organic with the architecture. The circular brick wall, set off by crimson sentry maples, sports 12?EUR??,,????'?? x 12?EUR??,,????'?? ceramic images of storybook characters by Laurie Eisenhardt. Clockwise: The 20-foot interactive book sculpture; the metal butterfly bench and wood arbor; the decorative, rubberized reading circle; the bronze statue. The organic attributes of the Children?EUR??,,????'???s Terrace are crimson sentry maples; a birch tree; Canadian serviceberry; green lane Euonymus; hosta (Ginko Craig); blue fescue; and dwarf fountain grass.

?EUR??,,????'??The children's terrace is architectural on the outside but organic on the inside to foster a sense of discovery. For example, the children's garden is designed with notches and nooks and crannies for kids to explore.?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'???Paul Andriese, ASLA, principal, Grissim Metz Andriese Associates

The Architecture

The $36.8 million, three-story brick Southfield, Michigan Public Library is a spectacular 106,132 square foot edifice that has replaced the 30-year old, 44,000 square foot Civic Center structure. Work began in 2000 and finished in 2003. The project was a large, collaborative effort between the library and its owner representative, Marchesano & Associates; the city of Southfield; architect/engineers Phillips Swager Associates of Dallas, Texas, library specialists; construction manager George Auch Company; and, of course, the landscape architect firm, Grissim Metz Andrieses Associates of Northville, Michigan, Paul Andriese, ASLA, principle (please see the ?EUR??,,????'??Building Project Team?EUR??,,????'?? sidebar).

Visible from the city?EUR??,,????'???s main thoroughfare, Evergreen Road, the library demands attention and gets it. The use of transitional hybrid brick with two-shaded horizontal banding, large ?EUR??,,????'??eyebrows?EUR??,,????'?? above ratchet windows, and large expanses of glass exude a modern and dynamic character. Now this is a library! I think of my hometown library: an old, wooden, dark building reminiscent of a haunted house that did not exactly beckon one in to partake of its dusty tomes, wardened over by a gray-haired spinster inclined to smack your hand with a ruler for talking or leaving the card catalogue drawer in disarray. No card catalogues or microfilm for Southfield, of course?EUR??,,????'??+technology resides throughout.

The uplighting gives the library quite a dramatic look, particularly the fountain and the elliptical three-story glass tower, the ?EUR??,,????'??shining beacon of knowledge.?EUR??,,????'?? The saw-toothed fa??? 1/4 ade of brick and glass are particularly dramatic with illumination against a dark sky

The tapered, elliptical three-story glass tower, a ?EUR??,,????'??shining beacon of knowledge,?EUR??,,????'?? it?EUR??,,????'???s been called, is best appreciated at night with the indoor illumination or from the inside. You enter the building from convenient and ample parking via the glass tower. Looking up, you see the base of the third floor conference room (the Southfield Room) that appears to ?EUR??,,????'??hover.?EUR??,,????'?? The effect is achieved through a ?EUR??,,????'??cable thrust system with horizontal aluminum receivers fixed to the cable to allow for stress of up to 8,000 pounds.?EUR??,,????'?? The cables at different levels provide structural stability. Advance Structures Inc., of Tenafly, New Jersey centered Southfield Room and fitting each individually-cut pane of glass to the 14 degree taper of the ellipse.

The tower struck me at first as out of character with the building, but its design, I?EUR??,,????'???m told, ?EUR??,,????'??introduces the concept of curves and grids used throughout the library design: the mullions of the glass skin of the elliptical tower; the ceiling grids and pixilated reading wall; the undulations of the circulation desk.?EUR??,,????'?? Right, I knew that. Whatever the explanation, the tower is quite spectacular.

 

The back view of the $36.8 million, 106,132 square foot, three-story brick Southfield, Michigan Public Library. The design elements of the large grass area and free-form fountain provide a tranquil buffer between the library and the main thoroughfare. ?EUR??,,????'??We made sure the loop road (the smaller road to the library) stayed on the outside of the development,?EUR??,,????'?? explained Paul Andriese, ASLA.

From the other side of the glass tower rises a tall, rectangular Generations Tower, cutting away from the building at an angle, ?EUR??,,????'??marked by a curved, plant-like form etched in the limestone, evoking the concept of history and the family tree.?EUR??,,????'??

The first floor speaks to youth: bright colors, interesting shapes, light maple wood and interactive areas: Gizmo (binoculars and viewing scopes); Storybook Castle and Dragon?EUR??,,????'???s Den; Reader?EUR??,,????'???s Tree House; and Storytime Space Station. Young adults also have their own area.

A wide angle view of the Imaginarium Garden and its essential elements: the book sculpture; the bronze ?EUR??,,????'??Flight of Imagination?EUR??,,????'?? sculpture; the butterfly bench and arbor; the bird houses and the ceramic storybook characters on the circular wall that separates the garden from the lawn.

The second floor presents the adult fiction area, finished in light cherry and conveying a warm homey feel for the ?EUR??,,????'??codgers.?EUR??,,????'?? I wonder if they serve bran muffins and tea here?

I laud one design feature in particular: staff services, computer labs, study rooms, fireplaces (now that?EUR??,,????'???s cool), and restrooms are located in the same location on each floor, which keeps down the number of ?EUR??,,????'??Excuse me, where?EUR??,,????'???s the bathroom??EUR??,,????'?? inquires.

Item List.

1. Four-inch depth shredded bark mulch in planting and evergreen tree beds.

2. Sodded lawn on four-inch depth topsoil.

3. Black aluminum edging between lawn and landscape bed.

4. Precast concrete pavers.

5. One-hundred twenty-foot free-form pool and fountain.

6. Eighteen inch crowned island .

7. Four-inch sodded lawn on four-inch topsoil.

8. Twelve-inch high crowned island.

It?EUR??,,????'???s not often you here ?EUR??,,????'??Where?EUR??,,????'???s the fireplace??EUR??,,????'?? in a library setting. Hmm, I wonder if Fahrenheit 451 is anywhere near the fireplace on floor two?

?EUR??,,????'??It (the site plan) was a political hot potato,?EUR??,,????'?? Paul Andriese, ASLA, told LASN. The initial debate was over a baseball field, long in place but in poor condition. The preliminary site plan called for razing the ball field to make room for the ample parking the new library required. The ball field?EUR??,,????'???s demise engender nostalgia in some, as many locals had played on that field in their youth. ?EUR??,,????'??Why rip up the field for a parking lot,?EUR??,,????'?? some argued.

The Reading Terrace is paved with precast concrete in a herringbone pattern. Mr. Andriese brings a special touch with triangular cuts to the pavers where they meet the crimson sentry maples, Keteleen junipers, and purple leaf winter creepers. The paving jogs were designed to complement the similar architecture of the library windows. Myrtle surrounds the circle of gray pavers. Little Princess, sergeant crab apples, and Stella D?EUR??,,????'???oro (day lily) form a decorative crescent.

?EUR??,,????'??Do you want to let the ball field drive the entire Civic Center plan??EUR??,,????'?? Mr. Andriese countered.

?EUR??,,????'??We wanted to make sure the frontage was not a parking lot, but green and with a water feature.?EUR??,,????'?? Mr. Andriese calls the fountain a ?EUR??,,????'??highlight feature,?EUR??,,????'?? as it catches the attention of passerbys on Evergreen Road, the major thoroughfare in front of the Civic Center. The addition of the fountain required a consultant, Mr. Andriese noted.

From this angle of the Children?EUR??,,????'???s Terrace you can see the book sculpture in the Imaginarium Garden. A birch trees is in the foreground; the crimson sentry maples are clearly defined against the concrete wall. The markers on the wall designate the positions for the ceramic storybook characters.

Grissim also designed the landscape with the sheer size of the building in mind. ?EUR??,,????'??You have to break down the scale to something more human,?EUR??,,????'?? asserted Mr. Andriese, which he accomplished by ?EUR??,,????'??adding detail and scale to human space?EUR??,,????'??+the smaller trees, low walls?EUR??,,????'?? (like theoval-shaped brick terrace he designed for the library entrance).

The Imaginarium, the name for the children?EUR??,,????'???s garden, is ?EUR??,,????'??architectural on the outside (a circular brick fence) but organic on the inside,?EUR??,,????'?? explained Mr. Andriese. ?EUR??,,????'??This is the essence of what a children?EUR??,,????'???s garden should be, the relating of the natural and man-made,?EUR??,,????'?? he added. The organic attributes of the Children?EUR??,,????'???s Terrace are crimson sentry maples; a birch tree; green lane Euonymus; hosta (Ginko Craig); blue fescue; and dwarf fountain grass.

A closer look at the bronze Journey of Imagination emerging from lavendar, and the bird houses. The ornamental grasses are zebra and blue oat.

As you enter the garden area, you walk on distinctive, differing pathways of pavers through a curious wonderland. You come upon a bronze cast sculpture, Journeys of the Imagination, by artist Gary Price, representing a boy riding a paper airplane. A little further on, tall, slender bird houses pop into view (suggested by the landscape architect and purchased by the librarian in New England). A sunken, rubberized circle of bright colors in the shape of a star attracts kids to sit. This is the Storytelling Pit, but I suspect the kids will come up with alternative, inventive play uses.

As the path weaves, you arrive at a wood arbor through which is framed a whimsical, metal butterfly bench. Tables, chairs and more traditional metal benches provide rest for the weary legs of parents waiting for their children to finish exploring, but as Mr. Andriese told LASN, ?EUR??,,????'??The kids don?EUR??,,????'???t want to leave.?EUR??,,????'?? It?EUR??,,????'???s understandable. I suspect adults linger here as well.

The view of the back of the library, the Reading Terrace, and a bit of the 120-foot free-form pool. Mr. Andriese used a consultant for the fountain. Keteleen junipers line the pool edge.

The library caf????(C) exits onto the Reading Terrace, as does the auditorium. Mr. Andriese said the auditorium exit presented a challenge, as it has theatre seating and descends lower than the caf????(C) exit. As both the caf????(C) and auditorium lead onto the same terrace, it was necessary to make two terrace levels, not such an easy thing to do, Mr. Andriese assured us. The auditorium exits onto the lower aspect of the Reading Terrace near a circle of gray pavers arched by a decorative crescent of greenery: Little Princess, sergeant crab apple trees, and Stella D?EUR??,,????'???oro (day lily). You step up to the second terrace, elliptically carved in precast concrete of a herringbone pattern, ending in triangular cutouts that point to crimson sentry maples, Keteleen junipers, and purple leaf winter creepers. The fountain arises from the southwestern edge of the Reading Terrace.

Photographer
Meadows & Co. Photography
P.O. Box 203
Birmingham, Michigan 48012
Gene Meadows