Jonathan Barnes
Architecture & Design

Share

Share link

http://jbadusa.com/module/projects/

Featured Projects

+Adaptive Re-Use

+Commercial

+Educational

+Interior Renovation

+Mixed-Use

+Residential

Filter

+

Reynoldsburg Library

As part of Vision 2020, a 20-project aspirational public library building program for the Columbus Metropolitan Library system, the Reynoldsburg Library was envisioned as a place for learning, achieving, and convening by means of an iconic building with a grand, civic scale and a focus on equitable and accessible spaces and responsive, performative design.

The building is sited on a property once occupied by the former Reynoldsburg library and adjacent to a main vehicular artery and the natural setting of the Alum Creek Watershed. The site design response was critical to the resultant architecture and accomplishes three goals: 1) establish an urban edge and street presence, 2) create a porous object on the site, allowing views and access between the urban edge and the open, Public Commons at the entry, and 3) engage with nature through daylight and views.

The building form subtly deflects in plan and section from its base “L”-shape to create a public way and a garden at the street, provide access beneath the south wing to the Public Commons, and produce a generous east entry approach. These deflections are repeated in the façade where the monochrome white brick faces angle to reveal glass at strategic areas: reading spaces and quiet study rooms, the entry lounge, the children’s area and the teen room. The glazing is further defined by wood-grained vertical louvers at the west façade. 

The building accommodates both the detailed programmatic requirements and the civic aspirations of the library with an orchestrated sequence of spaces. The large-scale Public Hall serves as entry, access hub and orientation device for the entire building with all major building functions feeding from this space. Its expansive, light-filled volume is legible throughout the library as a visual cue for customers. This Public Hall is the first stage of the primary circulation sequence, a sequence that tracks up the open stair opposite the entry and climbs southward to the main reading room with panoramic views of the Alum Creek Watershed and the Public Commons at the beginning of the journey. 

Interior materials are consistent and understated: a range of gray tones in the ceramic tile flooring, painted steel stair walls and carpet, and a natural wood screen and ceiling panel in the Public Hall. The notable exception is the 80-foot custom art installation by Dion Johnson, entitled “Connections”, that spans the length of the Public Hall.  

@150 North Third Street

As a prime example of a growing trend of urban infill and adaptive reuse projects in Columbus, @ 106 North Third Street saves a 120-year-old warehouse structure and repurposes the building and surrounding parking lots as a mixed-use residential project. The historic, 5 story masonry and heavy timber structure was converted to apartments and expanded with a 5 story addition, configured in an “L”-shape, for a total of 79 apartments and 100,000 square feet. The addition and an amenity deck are raised above a concrete podium which provides limited on-grade parking for 27 cars. Retail space is located on the ground floor of the existing building and in a new 3,000 square foot, 1 story building on Third St.

Design Integration A central goal for this project was to create an iconic building that represents both the past and the future of urban Columbus. Our intent was to create a dialog between architectural preservation and a modern intervention; a contrast in material, pattern and color that revitalizes an eviscerated urban block with a contemporary and relevant purpose and expression.

Designing for Equitable Communities The project is located in the heart of a highly walkable and central downtown district with both vehicular and pedestrian access and adjacent to city bus lines. The terraced stairs that connect the amenity deck to the sidewalk redefines the public-private boundary and creates a more socially equitable open space. The planning, architectural design and landscape design were negotiated through an extensive public review process.

Designing for Economy On this small infill site, a stated goal was to maximize density with the conversion of the historic building and the addition of a compatible infill building balanced with valuable open spaces and amenities. Apartments were designed to be efficient and affordable and materials were chosen for their economy, performance and visual impact.

Designing for Well-being For this urban infill project, it was important to provide a generous amount and variety of accessible outdoor spaces for relaxation and recreation. Compact apartments feature ample glazing to maximize daylight.