UMBRA

Postprint (published version)

From a traditional academic library to a modern learning environment : Dalarna University Library - expectations and results

This report describes the ideas and vision behind Dalarna University's award-winning library in Falun. A description of the planning and construction processes and an evaluation of the final outcome are presented together with experiences and observations drawn from the project.

Grid-connected roof solar plants in educational institutions for testing and electricity generation: a case in Spain.

The use of photovoltaic experimental plants in engineering educational buildings contributes to an increase in acceptance of this technology by future engineers. There are some photovoltaic (PV) systems in educational buildings in Spain, but they are usually limited to buildings in relation to electrical technologies or research areas. They are not common in other educational or official buildings. This paper presents the project of a grid-connected solar plant with two main objectives. First, different PV module technologies will be compared. Second, an emphasis on agronomical areas in educational settings will be reviewed in an attempt to facilitate student engagement in the use of the power plant. The system is grid-connected in order to pay-back the investment in the plant. In fact the electricity generated by the plant will be used by the installations of the building, as it is the closest consumer. This work intends to approximate photovoltaic technology to university degrees not directly related with it and at the same time research in comparison of systems with different technologies. This is a good example of an solar plant for both optimum production and educational purposes.

Designing a library: everyone on the same page?

Excerpts are presented from an interview by the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association buildings projects editor with four academic health sciences library directors: one who had recently completed a major library building project and three who were involved in various stages of new building projects. They share their experiences planning for and implementing library-building programs. The interview explores driving forces leading to new library buildings, identifies who should be involved, recalls the most difficult and exciting moments of the building projects, relates what they wished they had known before starting the project, assesses the impact of new library facilities on clients and services, reviews what they would change, and describes forces impacting libraries today and attributes of the twenty-first century library.

Undergraduate Library

Albert Kahn Associates, architects. Built 1957. On verso: University of Michigan, News Service, 3528 Administration Bldg., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104

Anchorage Library Competition, Anchorage, Alaska, 1981 (unbuilt project)

[Conceptual Sketch], untitled. Blue ink sketch on tracing paper, signed, 12 x 26 1/2 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Anchorage Library Competition, Anchorage, Alaska, 1981 (unbuilt project)

[Conceptual Sketch], untitled. Blue, green and brown ink sketch on tracing paper, 18x34 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Oberlin College Conservatory of Music Library Addition, Oberlin, Ohio, 1986-1988

[Conceptual Sketches], untitled. Ink sketches on graph paper, 8 1/2 x 11 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Oberlin College Conservatory of Music Library Addition, Oberlin, Ohio, 1986-1988

[Conceptual Sketches], untitled. Ink sketches on tracing paper with green marker coloring, 8 1/2 x 11 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

University of California Central Library Addition, San Diego, California, 1987-1993

[Early Conceptual Sketches], untitled. Ink sketches on tracing paper, 18 x 22 1/4 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

University of California Central Library Addition, San Diego, California, 1987-1993

[Early Conceptual Sketches], untitled. Blue ink sketches on tracing paper, 12x29 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

University of California Central Library Addition, San Diego, California, 1987-1993

[Early Conceptual Sketches], untitled. Green ink sketches on tracing paper, initialed, 18 x 28 1/2 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Corning Public Library (first proposal), Corning, New York, 1969 (unbuilt project)

[Conceptual Sketch of Building as a Bridge], untitled. Ink sketch on tracing paper, representing the beginning of polygonal thought in Gunnar Birkerts' work, 12 x 19 3/4 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]