Slover LibraryNorfolk, VA

Th e Slover Library

Copyright ©2015 Newman Architects, PC

A State-of-Th e-Art Library Complex and the Centerpiece of a Revitalized Downtown Norfolk

“Newman Architects’ design melds three generations of

architectural styles into one beautifully appointed building.

Not only will Slover engage and delight the public, but it represents Norfolk’s history as

well as its future.”

- Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim

IntroductionAfter more than six years of planning and development, the City of Norfolk is opening the new Slover Library — designed by Newman Architects — on January 9, 2015. Off ering the most advanced technology, the 138,000 square foot complex redefi nes how a public library is used, providing a civic space for creativity, collaboration, and research.

A combined public and private endeavor, the $65 million building was made possible by a $40 million gift from Frank and Jane Batten and a $21 million contribution from the City. Th e project led to the creation of the Slover Foundation, which contributed an additional $4 million to the initial construction. Th e library is named in honor of Colonel Samuel L. Slover, a former Mayor of Norfolk and uncle of Frank Batten, Sr.

About Slover LibrarySlover Library, located at 235 E. Plume Street in Norfolk, Virginia, off ers classes and events, computers, internet access, interactive displays, and a digital media studio, as well as a street level cafe. Collections include adult fi ction and non-fi ction, a children’s library and learning center, and a casual teen center with access to computers, gaming, and study rooms. Additionally, the community can access high-tech civic meeting rooms and the important Sargeant Memorial Local History and Genealogy Collection. Th e building will be LEED-certifi ed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and among the most technologically advanced libraries. More information is available at www.sloverlibrary.com.

Seaboard Building c. 1930

Center of Downtown Revival

Under the guidance of Ray Gindroz and Urban Design Associates, Norfolk has aggressively engaged in rebuilding its downtown since the 1990s. Th e City has built new infrastructure and vibrant mixed-use developments as well as a new light rail system. Slover Library was conceived as the anchor of a new downtown district adjacent to the MacArthur rail station. Blending the best of contemporary library resources and services with new and innovative space design, Slover is a vital resource for early literacy, community learning, leading-edge information technology, and civic engagement.

Above: Downtown Norfolk revitalization plan, from the Nauticus to Harbor Park Stadium

Facing page: View of Slover Library from MacArthur Light Rail Station

Glass connector, “the Forum” joining old and new

Ornament

From the project’s inception, Newman Architects worked with New Haven-based sculptor, Kent Bloomer, to develop a system of ornament that is an integral, organic part of the architectural whole. Bloomer’s ornament amplifi es three distinct points of the building: the ceiling of the Forum, the front entrance, and the third fl oor terrace of the loggia. Th e Forum, with its distinctive leafy aluminum canopy, reinforces the main entry and lobby as a place of connection. Th e foliation of the ceiling is comprised of over 1,000 elements die stamped and hand-hammered into an abstract botanical form. Th e abstract leafage is picked up again on the loggia, which serves as an accessible outdoor porch for the public. Th e ornament on the façade of the entrance departs from the botanical schematic. Th e forms themselves, while abstract, are reminiscent of the shapes of a sail. Th ey bring the diagonal entrance wall alive, creating a wave action that connects the Seaboard to the new structure.

Forum skylight with custom metal screen

Forum interior Forum and Seaboard connection

“We’re at a point now where some of us are beginning to turn the situation around, from thinking of ornament as in the past, and seeing it as something in the future. We’re at a new beginning.”

- Kent Bloomer

Th e Sargeant Memorial Collection Comes Home

Th e Sargeant Memorial Collection (SMC) is a rich archive of regional history and genealogy. Its holdings include some of the very fi rst documents after the European settlement in the new world. Th e Seaboard building, where the SMC resides, has been renovated with state-of-the-art archive spaces for the gathering and preservation of this rare resource. Th e upper level of the Seaboard is the site of a new digital interface to access the SMC. Built as a custom software application, the room is fi lled with wall-sized touch panels to facilitate the interactive search and exploration of the SMC’s holdings.

Facing: Historic Seaboard vestibule

Holiday parcel rush at Seaboard Post Offi ce

Sixth fl oor community engagement with panoramic city views

New JE Press Letterpress Studio

Blending the Old with the New

Th e new Slover Library is a restoration of the 115-year-old Seaboard building (formerly a customs house before becoming home to Norfolk’s main library in 2009), a new seven-story glass walled addition, and a renovation of an adjacent commercial building, the Selden Arcade. Th e Seaboard’s interior cortile, a central court surrounded by an arcade and a ring of enclosed rooms, is mirrored in the design of the glass addition. Th e western wall of the Seaboard has been opened to the new space, making its interior accessible to library patrons, while remaining visually connected to the outdoors through the new addition. Natural light weaves through the material of the new building to unite an interior public realm with the outdoor public realm of the city. Th e new Slover Library embodies the principal roles of today’s library: as a storehouse for the region’s history and artifacts, as a portal to digital access, and as a community gathering place.

Slover Library refl ects a relationship between the old and new: the solidity of the restored masonry Seaboard and a transparent and inviting addition. Th e spaces are structured to link to each other through the Forum, a three-story atrium at its center. Visitors can see the library contents upon entering the building and elect to explore the collection and engage in the programs. Th e library is a series of spaces and activities displayed off this central space. A hub for exchange and interchange, Slover Library is a town in miniature, with the Forum serving as its town square.

As one approaches Slover Library from the MacArthur Station, the new addition emerges from behind the Seaboard, its incremental ascending building blocks culminate at the top with a sculpture suggesting an opening book.

Restored Seaboard façade with new library tower in background

“Th e 21st century public library has to adapt to the age of e-books and online content. No longer is it defi ned as a repository of books, but more as a community anchor to encourage civic engagement. We designed Slover Library to respond to the growth of Norfolk and to create a space that welcomes all of its residents, and learners of all ages. ” - Herbert S. Newman

Client: Slover Library - City of Norfolk, VirginiaArchitect: Newman Architects in association with Tymoff & Moss, Norfolk, VAGeneral Contractor: Archer Western, Chicago, IL

Our Consultants:Ornament: Kent Bloomer Studio, New Haven, CTUrban Designer: Urban Design Associates, Pittsburgh, PATechnology Programmer: Th e Sextant Group, Pittsburgh, PALibrary Programmer : Providence Associates, Cottonwood, AZMEP Engineering: PACE Collaborative, Virginia Beach, VALighting Designer: Patrick Quigley Associates, Torrance, CAStructural Engineering: Stroud, Pence and Associates, Virginia Beach, VACivil Engineering: Timmons Group, Virginia Beach, VALandscape Architecture: Michael Vergason Landscape Architects, Alexandria, VAElevator Consultants: Lerch Bates, Bowie, MDGeotechnical: Schnabel Engineering, Newport News, VASignage: Strong Cohen Graphic Designers, New Haven, CTEnvelope: Leavitt Associates, Norfolk, VAFood Service: McFarland Kistler, Pittsburgh, PAPreconstruction Services: Turner Construction, Virginia Beach, VA

Photos courtesy of : Peter Aaron/Esto ©2014Graham Hebel, Newman Architects

Slover’s Creative Team

Newman ArchitectsNewman Architects, PC is a collaborative design fi rm led by Herbert S. Newman, Joseph Schiff er, Richard Munday, Peter Newman, Mavis Terry, and José A. Hernández. Newman has offi ces in New Haven, Connecticut, and Washington, DC. Over almost half a century, Newman has built a national reputation for the design of new buildings and the renovation and restoration of existing buildings. Th ese projects include public and private schools, libraries, civic and community buildings, academic buildings multi-tenant housing, private residences, offi ces, athletic buildings, churches, and synagogues. Newman Architects has received more than 125 design excellence awards, including awards from the American Institute of Architects, Th e Boston Society of Architects, and the Interior Design Institute. In 1995, Herb Newman received the Th omas Jeff erson Award for Public Architecture, a lifetime achievement award bestowed by the American Institute of Architects. More information is available at www.newmanarchitects.com.

Raymond L. Gindroz, Co-founder and Principal Emeritus of Urban Design Associates Raymond L. Gindroz pioneered the development of participatory planning processes for neighborhoods, downtowns and regional plans. He is an internationally recognized advocate and veteran practitioner who has helped revitalize cities by transforming inner city neighborhoods and distressed public housing projects into traditional mixed-income neighborhoods and by working with downtowns to attract new and diverse development. He is co-founder and principal emeritus of Urban Design Associates, a Pittsburgh fi rm established in 1964. Gindroz taught urban design at Yale for more than two decades and is a popular speaker whose books include “Th e Urban Design Handbook” and “Th e Place of Dwelling.”

Bloomer StudioKent Bloomer is the principal and founder of the Bloomer Studio, and has been its chief designer since 1965. His sculpture has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California, the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Conn., and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, as well as other museums and galleries. His work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Conn. and the Carnegie Museum of Art.

His large-scale projects have won state and national awards from the American Institute of Architects. Bloomer’s most recent projects include a foliated trellis for the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (architect: Cesar Pelli and Associates), large roof sculptures on the Harold Washington Library in Chicago (architect: Hammond, Beeby and Babka) an aluminum horse, wings and trellis for the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument in Kearney, Neb. (architect: Peter Dominick, Urban Design Group), and a decorative frieze for the Nashville Public Library (architect: Robert A.M. Stern).

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© 2015