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Quiz 4: **__ Salt Lake City Library. __** By Kiara Granado

At Salk Lake City Utah, you can find the new Public Library. Made by Grathmey Siegel Architects, of New York; The building was chosen from a group of projects who participated in a contest for the new building; the winning design, is a five-storey triangular building housing the stacks, a rectangular ‘bar’ building for administration, and a glass ovoid shaped atrium, all flow into a public plaza. The plaza and its buildings are embraced by a crescent shaped reading gallery with shops and cafés at ground level and a walk able roof that ascends to the triangular structure's rooftop garden. Atria occupy the spaces between the three buildings and bring the total floor area to 240 000ft2 (22 300m2). Of course, this kind of building, that changes the way of living the city, brings another perspective into the urban context. After comparing the Ching’s Notes about the Circulation Elements, an comparing them with the elements found on the building, we found the approach of the building is through the project civic plaza, with two entrances, the first facing the main street, and the second one, which is probably the most important because this kind of entrance has definitely more importance (in scale) that any other, besides the civic plaza its, not only the large space that prepares you to go into the library, but also connects between the old and the new library, it works as a transition between both of them.

The circulation both in the exterior as the interior of the building is convenient, clear and practical, in the outside the directions clearly show you the way to the building, as ludicrous as it may sound, this kind of approach, without getting people lost, is what both architects and urban planners often search in the spaces; in the interior, the building has the main circulation in a big open space, that works as a big hall; this is another relation that both professions often look in designs, that the stairs and any other circulation are visible for the public eye, so people can tell which way to go, or where are the stairs to go to “that upper space”, corridors are found in every floor as a horizontal circulation.

Finally, we can conclude that in the project of the Salt Lake City Public Library, I can also say that the plaza plays an important role in the circulation and the relationship across the old library, the new one, the plaza and the park. To finish we can say that this kind of use of the circulation elements (inner and outer) are desired in both architecture and urban planning. To finalize want to add a quote from the director of the museum.

Nancy Tessman, Library Director
 * “This building embodies the idea that a library is more than a repository of books and computers - it reflects and engages the imagination and aspiration” **

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