Last week I took a tour of the Hillsdale Library with architect Thomas Hacker as part of an article I'm writing for another publication about the building. Although it's a modest building in terms of size, I came away marvelling at what a gem the library is.
Hacker and his firm have long excelled at creating crisp contemporary architecture that transcends traditional modernism in its incorporation of classical forms and also recalls the Northwest modernism of Pietro Belluschi and John Yeon by using natural materials, particularly wood, to create a sense of warmth.
The Hillsdale library has a masonry base (a "plinth" in archi-speak), with column-like wood forms alternating with glass along two sides. Only the wood columns aren't simply for show. On the inside they hold books. Then there is a glass clerestory between the columns/glass portion with a flat roof that appears to float just above the building.
Inside the space is wide open in what Hacker calls a "garden space", with bookshelves arranged so as to draw attention to the center. The interior is dominated by a series of steel columns that expand into wide circular forms at the ceiling, much like Frank Lloyd Wright's "lilly pad" columns in the legendary Johnson Wax building. It's a very striking space architecturally, but also an inviting one. Natural light pours into the building, but it's a soft, diffuse light ideal for reading.
The library also takes advantage of a sloping site to walk a careful balance with respect to its context. At the lower portion of the hill going towards the Hillsdale commercial area, the building appears appropriately monumental for an important civic structure. But at the upper portion of the hill towards a residential area, the building modestly sits at a similar height to the neighborhood, with the wood columns at the same elevation as the wood single-family homes.
I also love the fact that the Hillsdale Library is ultra sustainable, but doesn't wear its greenness on its sleeve. Commendable as its daylighting, energy efficiency and construction recycling record may be, walking through the space I actually forget anything about it being green. And isn't that the way it should be?
Hillsdale seems to be the last of Thomas Hacker's string of libraries for Multnomah County, and if so, it's a fitting conclusion. Opening within the same year or so as Rem Koolhaas' landmark Seattle Central Library, Hillsdale is a reminder that while Portland may not have the standout diamonds that Seattle does, we certainly have a string of pearls.
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