Westwood Branch Library
Los Angeles
Steven Ehrlich Architects

Ehrlich plants an "urban oasis" for learning

© Tom Bonner

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Steven Ehrlich Architects conceived of the Westwood Branch Library as an "urban oasis for learning"–one look at the building′s site reveals why. Located on a side street off busy Wilshire Boulevard, this library occupies an interstitial zone between high–rise office buildings to the northwest, and private residences to the southeast. Its immediate neighbors, though, are a sea of parking lots and Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park, a famous cemetery that claims movie star Marilyn Monroe, architect Frank Israel, and other luminaries among its eternal residents.

As land prices in this neighborhood are high, the library was only able to acquire a plot of land measuring just 18,350 square feet: not enough to accommodate its usual program of a single–story 12,500–square–foot library plus on–grade parking. Accordingly, Ehrlich′s design team took the novel step of locating most of the parking in two subterranean garage levels; except for a few parking spaces and a public auditorium that can be accessed after hours on the ground floor, most of the library′s main spaces occupy the building′s second story.

Although an elevator allows direct access to the second story, the building plan encourages them to walk through a sheltered entry plaza and then up a formal staircase. The architects hope the plaza, which is now a favorite spot for teens to hang out while they wait for parents to collect them, will nurture a more pedestrian–friendly character in the neighborhood. Aside from this gesture, though, the architects took a more pragmatic approach to the building′s east–facing front façade: glazing it with channel glass allows in plenty of light, yet blocks views of cars parked across the street.

On the second floor, the eastern end of the building contains book stacks as well as semi–secluded reading areas. This end also features a "reading porch," suspended above the entry plaza. The west wall of the reading room is glazed with an expanse of clear glass that allows lush views of the adjacent cemetery. This window–wall floods the space with light and helps patrons orient themselves within the building and the neighborhood.

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Formal name of project:
Westwood Branch Library

Location:
Los Angeles

Gross square footage:
14,000 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$6.4 million

Client:
Los Angeles Public Library System

Architect:
Steven Ehrlich Architects
10865 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
310-838-9700 tel.
310-838-9737 fax
www.s-ehrlich.com