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Home My WebLink AboutARB200900089 Legacy Document 2011-01-05 (8)00 G R I M M+ P A R K E R A R C H I T E C T S •0 Meeting Date: October 20, 2008 @ 1:OOpm (Crozet project presented 3:40 to 4:40pm) Issue Date: October 21, 2008 CROZET LIBRARY Albemarle County, Virginia ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD (ARB) WORKSESSION -ONE (I) Grimm and Parker Project No. 20626.00 ATTENDANCE Phone Number fjn" William Daggett ARB Member Charles Lebo ARB Member Candace Smith ARB Member Fred Missel ARB Member Paul Wright ARB Member Brent Nelson Albemarle County Margaret Maliszewski Albemarle County John Halliday Jefferson Madison Reg. Library 434.979.7151 hall id imrl.ora Jim Boyd Heyward Boyd Architects 434.296.5353 ibo; dahba cp corn Melanie Hennigan Grimm + Parker Architects 301.523.0007 mhennigan (a)gparch.com Todd Willoughby Grimm+ Parker Architects 703. 903.9100 twilloughby(&Rparch.com DISTRIBUTION Bill Letteri Ron Lilley John Halliday Margaret Maliszeswski Jim Boyd ITEMS DISCUSSED: I. Melanie Hennigan presented the site analysis, site plan, floor plans, elevations, building sections, and conceptual site model that were shown and discussed during the last Steering Committee Meeting held on 9/29/2008. A three - dimensional rendering of the building was also presented to the ARB which was developed after the last Steering Committee Meeting. This rendering is based on the plans, elevations, and sections presented and discussed at the last Steering Committee Meeting. Melanie described the challenges involved with the existing site topography and the proposed grading for the Crozet Streetscape Project, explaining how these factors govern the location of vehicular access to the site, lower and upper floor slab elevations, and building entry point(s). Melanie explained the Library's desire to have all Library program spaces and the building's primary entrance located on the upper "parking lot" level in order to reduce impact on staffing needs. Melanie presented ideas regarding design character of the building. She described a central circulation "spine" with clerestory glazing, that moves from east to west, recalling Crozet's tunnel that connected eastern Virginia to western Virginia through the mountains. This spine element also invites visitors into the library and organizes the interior layout of the library as it extends to the west fagade of the building where there will be a view of the mountains to the west. This spine feature would be an opportunity to express the local, rich tradition of bridge building and engineering, railroad history and the early American idea of westward expansion— all pertaining to local history and culture. Melanie noted current proposed exterior building materials include, stone, brick, cast - stone, and glass. The stone is prevalent as a building base, bridge abutments and retaining walls throughout Crozet 2. Architectural Review board Member's comments on the presented design were as follows: A. Concern was expressed that there may be too much west facing glazing and the impact on building energy load. •0 •• CROZET LIBRARY Meeting Minutes (Architectural Review Board ARB Worksession) Page 1 of 3 One member suggested reducing the quantity of glass, another member said he trusted the architects to determine the appropriate response — either through energy conserving glass, fins, or louvers, etc. Melanie explained the type of glass being used would be very energy conserving— reducing the amount of infrared and UV allowed into the building while still allowing in a lot of visible light. Melanie pointed out that G+P will not be proposing mirrored glass of any kind. One member expressed concern over the glazing color and requested samples be provided at the next meeting. G +P agreed to study the west facing glass issue in much more detail and study the proportions of glass also. The committee liked the clerestory element running east to west (which has northern and southern exposures) and commented that this was an appropriate element and approach to harvesting daylight. B. Concern was expressed over the building scale being too "large, imposing, dominant, big" for downtown Crozet. Melanie pointed out that by today's context in Crozet, the new library will be one of the largest buildings in town. Melanie pointed out on the site model that was presented that the library was significantly larger in footprint than existing surrounding buildings. The board noted that future context will evolve and conceivably grow in size. Nonetheless, the board was still concerned with the overall height and monumental scale of the library — especially as implied in the 3 -D perspective rendering. The board also noted that individual elements of the building may be too imposing - like the roof overhangs. Concern was also expressed over height and scale of north elevation "bump - out" roof forms and the fact that when they pop up above the roof, they introduce east and west facing glass. The board noted that these might get scaled down and even have shed type roof over them. Melanie agreed that G +P was not convinced we had resolved the scale issue G+P agreed that to look at the overall building scale and its height and proportions, and to examine all of these ideas discussed by the board. C. Concern by one member over the building not fitting the existing "character, vernacular" of Crozet. This member asked what features of the building were intended to ground this design in this place. Melanie explained that there were numerous design ideas that were developed that originated in the poetry of this place— Crozet. The context the building relates to ranges from the immediate quirky character of existing Crozet to the surrounding character of the region and the context of the engineering history of Crozet the man: bridge building, tunnel building, expression of the structure— like the railroad trestle bridges, etc. Melanie also noted that in the freehand sketches numerous balconies were shown to relate to the historic hotel on Crozet Avenue. Melanie also pointed out that the library expressed the desire to not have balconies, as they would be difficult to maintain. The drawings presented show in section and elevation the expression of the railroad trestle bridge aesthetic and the articulation of structural lattice columns, large over head girders, and stone piers to relate to local context. One board member asked to be informed when the community presentation of the design takes place as he is curious how the community will respond to the design Other members expressed an appreciation for the character as shown and noted there were elements in the present design that related directly to Crozet's character and history. The Board liked the stone base and brick walls combined with accents of glass on the fagade. Overall, the board noted the building was going in a good direction. D. The board requested that either an entrance or the appearance of an entrance be provided along Crozet Avenue. One member stated the needs of Library to reduce the number of entrances should "trump" a requirement to provide an actual building entrance off Crozet Avenue. E. Concern was expressed over use of large curtain wall expanses of glass. One member suggested scaling window heights down, creating "punched openings" in lieu of wide western expanse and providing "mass or pilaster" at the northwest glazing corner in lieu of a mullioned corner. F. One member suggested creating outdoor reading space. Melanie pointed out that the overall size of the site was 2 acres and that half an acre was lost to the creation of Main Street, resulting in a 1.5 acre site with 50 parking spaces and a 17,000 sf building footprint. Melanie pointed out that G +P would love to have created an outdoor space, but on such a tight site, it was difficult to find space to accomplish that. The board seemed to appreciate that analysis. G. One member stated they "liked, appreciated" the design concept of the building reflecting Crozet's railroad influences. 00 00 CROZET LIBRARY Meeting Minutes (Architectural Review Board ARB Worksession) Page 3 of 3 If your understanding of the items in this meeting is different from the listed above, please do not hesitate to call, Author: Todd S. Willoughby / Melanie Hennigan J: \proj2 \2006 \20626 \docs \04 - Meeting Minutes \ARB 20 Oct 2008 work session Crozet Library mh.doc