Central Library’s renovation: Four more opportunities for public comment - SaportaReport

Fulton County residents have four more opportunities to express their thoughts about the planned renovation of the Central Library, in Downtown Atlanta. The first two meetings were held

Wednesday.

About 10 persons attended the two sessions Wednesday, library spokesperson Claudia Strange said Thursday. Strange said library officials  hope many individuals will attend a future meeting

to share their thoughts about what the renovated library should provide to the community.

The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System intends to renovate Central Library in order to better meet current and future needs. The library opened in 1980 and a large portion of the facility

is vacant, used for storage or otherwise not serving a significant public purpose.

Fulton County’s procurement department is still determining who will move and store the library’s contents during the construction period. The bid has not been awarded, according to the

department’s website. The bid was issued July 27 and the deadline for responses was Sept. 11.

The decision to renovate the building was reached after a public outcry against a proposal to demolish the building and build a Downtown library elsewhere. The architecture of the building

was part of the outcry.

Central Library is the last building designed by world-renown architect Marcel Breuer. He used the same brutalist style he deployed in his acclaimed Whitney Museum of Modern Art, in New

York.

Central Library opened in 1980 as the Atlanta’s statement to the world that it had arrived as a major city. The design isn’t to everyone’s taste, but it does mark a moment in Atlanta’s

history during the administration the city’s first black mayor, Maynard Jackson.

One renovation plan floated by the library system called for retooling five or six floors for library purposes. This would leave three to four floors available for lease. A number of

potential public uses have been discussed, including locating Fulton County employees in the space.

Renovating the floors for library use would involve, “extensive renovations,” according to the report. The remaining floors would require less extensive renovation efforts.

One design for the renovated library has been offered. It’s intended to promote conversation about the possibilities for the renovation. The design resulted from the combined effort of the

Atlanta-based Architecture and Design Center and Praxis3.

Here’s how Praxis3 describes the collaboration and resulting design:

I was involved in the planning and construction of this building as a library employee at the time it was built and was very concerned about the proposal to tear it down. Any plan for

renovation must respect Breuer’s original design. So please don’t mess with the facade or remove the great internal staircase. One interesting fact about the staircase is that it was

originally meant to have smooth polished surfaces, but when the forms were removed and wood grain could be seen, it was left alone and became one of the building’s best design features.

Great architects often adapt their designs during the building process and serendipity can create great results.

The building was originally designed to have flexible interior spaces, but actual changes over the decades haven’t always been done well. Creatives and government don’t always mesh very well

in the country. I always thought it was ashame that the public couldn’t access the wonderful roof garden patio, so I would like to see a design that allowed for that. As long as the

exterior windows aren’t altered, most of the upper floors can be reconfigured in different ways. Please also keep the “Wisdom Bridge” sculpture in the front.

The Delectables restaurant had wonderful food and was greatly missed when it closed. I once submitted a proposal to turn the space into a restaurant business incubator to teach job skills to

disadvantaged people, but nothing ever came of it. At that time, all the original kitchen equipment was still in place.

I sincerely hope that Fulton County will not let government bureaucracy get in the way of creative solutions for this building’s future.

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