Revising the revisions

July 18, 2009

Our architectural design workshops are taking place this summer. During the workshops, the staff from Uihlein Wilson Architects spends two days asking questions and listening to responses. Then we review and revise. And then, of course, review and revise the revisions. (I think it should be noted that all the people on Uihlein Wilson’s team are really good listeners.)

We’ve had great input from many people. Thank you to everyone for that. Folks come and go depending on their interest and expertise. It has been so rewarding to participate in the process of redesigning a library. Changes are recommended and then displayed on the screen for all to examine. It’s helpful to see how the suggestion will look in proper context. More questions are asked and answered. Another image is displayed. The architectural team is very patient and always willing to provide an image, discuss an engineering issue, and, of course, remind us to consider the cost/benefit of every decision. It’s certainly no easy feat to be able to think so specifically and so globally, all at the same time.

And then the workshop is over. That’s when we shift back into homework mode. (The architects have homework and so do we. Sometimes questions can’t be answered immediately and more research is assigned.)

Thus the evolving design. We’ve got more work to do but we are moving toward the end of the design process. This fall the entire plan is slated to be finalized and approved by various officials.

Architect Mark Paschke, of Uihlein Wilson Architects, kindly provided the rendering below. This view from the south shows how the new part of the building is being incorporated into the old.

It’s important to note that we are still in design mode and, therefore, this is subject to change. (I believe any good attorney would advise me to offer that caveat.) With that said, this is where we are today…