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ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN JURY COMMENTS ON PROPOSED STRUCTURE

MILFORD PA: March 5, 2007 --   The twelve-member Design Jury recently empanelled to review the final architectural submissions in the six-month long competition held to select an architectural firm to design a new central library for Pike County comprised an even blend of local Pike County residents and specialists from the fields of architecture and library design. Several jury members shared their comments following the jury’s unanimous recommendation to the Pike County Board of Directors to appoint Frederic Schwartz Architects (FSA) to lead the design of the new library.

Commenting on the unique approach used to select an architect for the Pike County library project, jury member George Thomas said, “The innovative employment of a design jury provided Pike County with a unique opportunity to obtain the creative input of three outstanding architectural firms.” Mr. Thomas, an architectural historian and an adjunct faculty member in the University of Pennsylvania's Urban Studies and Historic Preservation program, is a principal in the Philadelphia-based firm, CivicVisions, LP.

Jury member Elisabeth Martin, AIA, who is a leading specialist in library design, is principal in MDA design group international and served as president of the Center for Architecture Foundation, observed, “The Schwartz design truly captures the essence of this extraordinary building site. The site is all about nature with its commanding view to the Sawkill Creek and Knob Hill beyond. FSA set the building toward the rear of the property, fronted by an expansive public plaza or greenscape. This technique, of setting it back from the historic building street line, provides for a softer blending of the building’s contemporary architecture with the more traditional buildings at either side,” she emphasized.

Betty Hague , Secretary of the PCPL Board of Directors and jury member, stated, “I’m more of an architectural traditionalist who appreciates the historic spirit of downtown Milford. Initially, I was shocked to see the contemporary look of the submitted library designs. I was sure they wouldn’t fit with the more classic forms of architecture in Milford.” “Yet, after seeing the marvelous interior design of the FSA plan and developing a better appreciation for the essential design elements of a contemporary library, I now have a real enthusiasm and excitement about the FSA plan,” she said. “I’ve long heard the phrase ‘Form follows function.’ Now I understand how very true that is. The open, inviting interior of this outstanding building defines the outer structure.”

Jonathan Marvel, AIA, architectural consultant to the New York Public Library System and a principal in Rogers Marvel Architects, observed that, “ Milford is about the people who are from here; it is about the people who have come here; and, it is about the people who will be coming here in the future. It has become a wonderfully blended community of old and new, of classic and contemporary. This is a building for everyone.”

Barbara Buchanan , Co-chair of the PCPL Building Task Force, added, “We are all proud of the historic buildings that add richness to Milford. Many of those buildings are examples of leading architectural styles of earlier eras. Yet none of them represents our county’s focus on nature, on community and conservation, as does the proposed library. I am thrilled with the FSA design. It is the perfect design for the perfect site in the perfect town,” she added.

“ Fred Schwartz has designed an incredible building that is both functional and engaging. This is library design at its best,” noted jury member Susan Nigra Snyder, a principal of CivicVisions LP who has taught in the Fine Arts and Urban Design departments at the University of Pennsylvania. “With its open, engaging interior, the public café, meeting and study rooms and park-like setting overlooking the Sawkill Creek, Pike County’s new central library will be a destination building for county residents,” she stated.

PCPL Library Director and jury member Ellen Schaffner noted her appreciation for the details and sensitivity to patron comfort and staff operations revealed in the FSA library design. “The interior design provides an ideal operational flow, while allotting abundant space for adult, teen and children’s activities and programs. This is a library that people will come to again and again.”

“This building is about transparency – not just seeing out from within the library, but seeing the activity within from outside the library. The vibrancy of library life, the excitement taking place within will be seen from the street, creating an amazing pull that has so often been successfully been realized by other libraries utilizing the inviting nature of glass,” said Elisabeth Martin, who also teaches library planning and provides planning and design services to many library systems.

Mr. Marvel noted, “With its open design and abundant use of glass, the building is extremely inviting. It celebrates community, sharing and coming together.” Susan Nigra Snyder added, “The expansive green space in front of the building provides a wonderful buffer between the library and the busy streetscape, while affording a large community space for concerts, markets and celebrations.”