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New central library will hug C-Train tunnel


By Jason Markusoff, Calgary Herald August 10, 2011 8:12 PM


By choosing to build the new central library in the East Village block next to City Hall, the library board takes on the challenge of developing its new facility right over the LRT tunnel that leads to the Stampede grounds.

The lot had been considered years ago for a University of Calgary downtown campus, but had sat dormant as the East Village development agency shopped around parcels to would-be builders of the resurgent neighbourhood.

For the tracks and other reasons, library decision-makers first thought the block wouldn’t work. But they came to embrace the idea, as other advantages emerged and they began studying how cities elsewhere build atop tracks.

[...]

To get some ideas how it could be done, Calgary Public Library tapped a local architectural firm to offer concepts for a library that straddles the tracks.

It imagines a five-storey structure that spans most of the block opposite City Hall, with a large lobby on 3rd Street S.E. and a smaller lobby greeting East Villagers at the end of the 8th Avenue cul-de-sac.

The actual “control point” entry would be on the second level, leading to the books and other key library features. The centre strip, where the tracks and tunnel sat, would be an open atrium, letting in natural light to the upper floors.

[...]

The feasibility document suggests the other part of a so-called “cultural campus” could be a stand-alone facility to the north of the library, along 7th Avenue S.E.

“A cultural campus could take many forms,” Meek said.

There’s much work — from surveying to fundraising to possible environment assessments — to go before the ceremonial shovels come out.

[...]

Of the various downtown sites the board studied, the East Village lot was the only one that couldn’t feature underground parking, on account of the LRT tunnel.

However, it’s expected the Calgary Parking Authority will move ahead with plans for a parkade on the other side of 9th Avenue to help handle library businesses, and make up for some of the lost surface parking in East Village.

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