The Mount Prospect Public Library has an adventurous plot that includes 15 years, five referenda and temporary quarters for 330,000 books.

Built in the late 1970s, before the days of personal computers, the square-ish brick building had 50,000 sq. ft. on one level, with parking below and mechanical penthouse above. It was designed with expansion in mind.

"Our original roof deck was reinforced concrete about 10 in. thick," said Tom Garvin, head of building services for the library. "It was built to take a 150-lb. live load per sq. ft. We always meant to go up."

advertisement

Over the years, the size of the library's collection more than doubled. The staff grew from 35 to 125 people, and many amenity areas were eliminated to make way for more shelves and offices.

"They were about as out of space as you will ever find in a library," said architect Jack Poling, a principal with Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle in Minneapolis.

The renovation project added a second floor, doubling the library's interior footage. It includes comfortable reading niches, separate spaces for teens and tots, expanded and upgraded public access computer area, meeting rooms and ergonomic staff work areas. A striking two-story element of precast concrete anchors the front door and reduces the civic feeling of the original architecture.

Enormous floor-to-ceiling windows and rooftop light monitors capture greater natural light. Reflective ceilings distribute light more evenly and replace the direct lighting that no longer matched up with work areas.

Further efficiencies are gained through four air handlers and 90 variable air volume boxes that allow tighter climate control throughout the building, and three copper-finned tube boilers do more work with less energy than the two larger but aging ones.

"The only things that were existing are the concrete shell and brick on the first floor, and the parking lot," Poling said. "Just about everything else is new."

Getting Funding

From the library's standpoint, the major hurdle was funding. Four referenda, starting in 1987, were defeated, until a $20.5 million bond issue succeeded in 2002.

"Finally, the pieces started coming together," added library Executive Director Marilyn Genther.

During the next year, the architect turned design drawings into construction drawings. The library rented space in a nearby business park and moved in. It hired Owner Services Group in Lombard, Ill., to be its representative and the Meyne Co., a division of Bulley & Andrews, in Chicago as the general contractor. Construction, which ran about $13 million, began in spring 2003. The library reopened this fall.

Streets Squeeze Site

The site, 10 S. Emerson St., was a tight squeeze, locked by main thoroughfares and municipal construction. Illinois Route 83 runs along the backside.

With limited exception, the erection of steel and precast concrete was done from the front of the building. The task required a 500-ton crane with more than 200 ft. of boom, and a lot of counterweights, said project manager Sam Vaccarello of Meyne.

"We just about had to build from the air," he said. "It was an interesting logistical challenge."

"Steel took longer than anticipated to procure," said Justin Sager, the owner's representative. "We didn't enclose the building as quickly as we would have liked, which forced the project to become much busier during the later months. Fortunately, our place in line wasn't impacted by the increase in steel prices."

One of the variables in renovation work is not knowing what will be found under layers of old construction. In this case, it was widespread uneven floors. Leveling all of them would have been cost-prohibitive, Vaccarello said.

The solution was to selectively choose the areas where dips and deflections would be most apparent, such as beneath long expanses of terrazzo, glass and millwork, and repair those.

"The issue was an important one," Vaccarello said. "We involved the owner and rest of the team early on to let them know the condition existed, and put our heads together to minimize costs. It's almost impossible to cover that sort of condition in the bid documents."

Half-Glass Facade

The most dramatic architectural change was made to the windows.
The original narrow vertical rectangles of glass have been replaced by soaring bay windows that scale a story or more. Artistically placed mullions divide the large panes and add further visual interest. About 50 percent of the facade is now glass, Poling said.

"The idea was to make the library more welcoming and connected visually to what goes on around it," he added. "The windows serve the purpose of opening up the building on the inside, and at night, conversely, to make the library and the activity and colors visible from the outside."

Sager said one thing that was nice architecturally was that the glazing is a combination of translucent and clear. "There aren't magnificent views to behold," he added. "They wanted to let light in but didn't necessarily want to frame the exterior views."

Also on the exterior, the brown brick that encases the second level, although different, is a fortuitous match to the original.

"That was another brainstorm, to tuckpoint the lower level so essentially the brick and mortar are the same," Vaccarello said. "The bricks blend so well they are hardly noticeable."

Meyne did the tuckpointing.

"One of the comments made often by visitors is how well the brick matches," Genther said.