This pod is a hybrid space that incorporates room for student studying, a library and literary archive, and a historical walkthrough component intended to educate visitors and community members about Gallatin’s environmental mission and legacy. The design of this spacious room is heavily grounded in the organic, curved geometry that our school seeks to incorporate in the majority of our pod designs. The Library/History space also intends to emphasize the trend of paying homage to the mission of the school through as many aspects as possible.
The raised balcony/mezzanine was designed with the intention of positively Influencing the usability of the space. It gives the room an aesthetic feature similar to stepped/tiered rice-paddies used in East-Asian agriculture. Additionally, physically elevating the historical educational portion of the room allows most of the traditional, usable library space to remain separate from the area dedicated to teaching of Gallatin history. This allows us to preserve the social dynamics of both the study and archives space primarily designated to the first floor (an environment of hustle and bustle, but with spaces allocated for refuge), and the historical portion (which would hopefully be characterized as an experience of calm, leisure and wonder).
The fused nature of this space is no accident. Regardless of whether or not the people visiting this historical education space are affiliated with the university, the placement of a museum-esque walkthrough in such an area is extremely consequential. This pod has the critical role of serving as the hub for knowledge through the accumulation of countless tomes, and serving as a space for communal learning exchanges. The format of having traditional library functions housed in the same proximity as the historical walkway is one of this space’s primary attributes. This amalgamation would lead to an intensified sense of meaning experienced by those exposed to the rich history of Gallatin and the construction of the landmark institution that is the School of the Earth. The goal is to invite observers into a space that would expose them to both the good work done over the years, and the work currently being done by students around them.
- The entrance to the building is angled so as to give the individual visiting the library a view of the open space, the choice of whether or not to proceed to the lower or upper level.
- These are the stairs that lead visitors to the historical education space on the elevated mezzanine/walkway, and back down to the first level/exit. The wider staircase positioned to the left is meant for ascending to the upper level, while the staircase further to the right and on the top of the picture is meant for walking back down after viewing the upper level. The ascending stairs are significantly wider at the base, in an attempt to be more spatially inviting to passersby.
- The purpose of the lower level leans more toward the traditional purpose of a university library space. It is an area dedicated to housing the university’s books, in addition to studying and working (for students primarily, but other members of the Gallatin/NYU community are welcome as well).
- The hexagonal structure is a 6-person private study pod gazebo. The shape of these gazebos draws inspiration from beehive honeycombs. This element of the natural world symbolizes the tightly-knit community of our school, and the high productivity of the thinkers here. Individuals in the private triangular sections of these pods have the option of being exposed to the rest of the space, or they may close themselves off visually and sonically to the library by closing a retractable privacy door.
- The other feature of these hexagonal study gazebos is the manually configurable circular personal tables. This idea is directly drawn from the study space in Lipton Hall’s commuter den on our own campus. Each table is designated to a triangular personal pod section.
- This cross sectional element of the floor plan is meant to display what resides underneath the mezzanine on the outer edges of the bottom floor space. The elements depicted in the image would be repeated in a staggered manner all around the bottom floor.
- This is more of an orthodox take on a library study space, but a crucial one. The tables and chairs provide a place for group work and collaboration. Additionally, the geometry of the tables has been purposefully designed in a nonlinear fashion, in keeping with the theme of fluidity and flexibility in our building.
- The rectangular red section of the floorplan represents the repeated iterations of bookshelves throughout the bottom floor. However, it is in these spaces that library help services could be stationed. For example: a help desk/book check-out counter, laptop lending stations, etc.
- The upper level is meant primarily to serve the purpose of an interactive, educational tour of the School of the Earth. The thought here was to make the choice to learn about the school’s history far more enticing. In NYU’s Bobst Library, there is in fact a space dedicated to the history of our school – but it is seldom visited. There are also sections of the upper level space dedicated to the traditional library elements outlined in #8.
- This historical display module is the bread and butter of the upper level space. Drawing on inspiration from the American Museum of Natural History, these would be informative touch-screen devices that could be perused at one’s own pace. Organized chronologically around the walking path, these displays would provide a combination of text, images, video, and interactive games to educate users not only on the history of the School of the Earth, but also principles of green design and the environmental sciences. Viewing these in order is ideal, but not required. They are also physically large enough to be viewed by several people.
- (Identical to #8)
- The screening space is the finale of the walking tour through the historical component of the upper level. This a multi purpose space that could be used for gallery exhibitions much like the one taking place in 2017 for the School of the Earth, but would primarily be used to show a short films (muted with subtitles out of respect for those studying) about the history of the school.
Akin to the Auditorium/Administrative space, minimizing the use of traditional materials is ideal with regard to the Library’s physical composition. While this bubble’s greatest attributes may have to do with the social dynamics of the space, integration of ecologically-friendly materials (specifically ones that minimize carbon footprint) are also crucial for this space to represent its goals, and serve as a reminder for those in the library. As many elements as possible would be built in the fashion of Terreform One’s mycelium benches, which will serve the functional uses of the space, but also provide a distinct spectacle and environmental theme.