News & Update | Architect Selection Criteria | Design Jury Comments on Library Plan
Community Support Growing for New Central Library

LIBRARY PLANNERS EMPLOY INGENUITY to CONSERVE PLANNING EXPENSE

MILFORD PA: March 5, 2007 --   A bit of applied ingenuity, coupled with smart networking and a signature architectural opportunity, has netted the residents of Pike County an exciting design for a new central library by a world-class architectural firm at a fraction of the usual cost.

In 2004, the Pike County Public Library received a generous contribution by the late Dorothy E. Warner of Milford to be used to build a new central library in Milford. The funds were used in 2005 to purchase a prized property bordering the Sawkill Creek on East Harford Street. Yet, at the outset of 2006, without the availability of state funding, an endowment fund or other financial resources, funding for the design phase of the project was nowhere in sight. That is, until Task Force member Alastair Gordon suggested an architectural design competition that would require minimal funding to execute.

“Design competitions often are used to secure involvement of leading architects, while providing project planners with a wide array of architectural solutions,” explained Alastair Gordon, noted architecture author and journalist and member of the PCPL Building Task Force. “Generally, the participating firms are provided with handsome stipends to develop plans for the competition,” he explained. “Milford’s rich architectural heritage, the compelling legacy of the area’s conservation stewardship and Pike County’s position as the fastest growing county in Pennsylvania, afforded us the opportunity to undertake a design competition – with a unique twist,” he noted. The unique twist was to conduct the first round of the two-round competition without offering a stipend to participants.

“It was extraordinarily gratifying to successfully attain the first round participation of nine leading architectural firms that submitted designs for absolutely no compensation,” stated Maleyne Syracuse, Chair of the Building Task Force. In December 2006, the Architecture Sub-Committee of the Task Force selected three finalists from among the nine submitting firms to prepare a full set of interior and exterior plans. The three finalist firms, BKSK Architects ( New York), Bohlin Cywinski Jackson ( Wilkes-Barre) and Frederic Schwartz Architects ( New York) presented their final designs to a Design Jury during a day-long session at Grey Towers on February 24, 2007.

The three finalist firms each were provided a modest stipend of $2,500 to produce a full design presentation. Charles Eible, President of the PCPL Board of Directors and Task Force Member noted that “Many libraries spend tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to obtain quality preliminary architectural designs. For instance, the Albert Wisner Wisner Public Library in Warwick, NY has invested more than $80,000 in NY state grant money since 2003 to obtain a library design.” “It is absolutely extraordinary that we were able to engage the participation of three world-class firms for an investment of less than $10,000,” he added.

“The ultimate success of a design competition is dependent upon the quality of the jury panel,” noted Mr. Gordon. Ms. Syracuse said, “It was crucial that our Design Jury draw on the talents and perspective of Pike County residents as well as the experience and expertise of architectural professionals.” Among the Pike County jury members were Barbara Buchanan, longtime resident of Pike County, former President of the PCPL Board of Directors and Chair of the Building Task Force, Ellen Schaffner, PCPL Library Director, Betty Hague, Secretary of the PCPL Board of Directors and library volunteer for more than 30 years, Maleyne M. Syracuse, PCPL Board Member and Chair of the Building Task Force and Alastair Gordon, Task Force member, journalist and author of numerous books on architecture and architects.

“Thanks to the numerous professional contacts of PCPL Building Task Force members Alastair Gordon and Ed Brannon, we were extraordinarily fortunate to secure the participation of six leading architectural specialists from the public, private and academic sectors,” stated David Farrington, who acted as the Task Force coordinator for the presentations and Design Jury deliberations.

Among the professional architects participating on the design jury were Elizabeth Martin, library design specialist and principal of MDA design group international and President of the Center for Architecture Foundation; Jonathan J. Marvel, architecture faculty member from the Parsons School for Design and principal of Marvel Rogers Architects; Ken Frampton, leading architectural historian and faculty member of the Columbia University School of Architecture; Susan Nigra Snyder and George Thomas, both architecture faculty members at University of Pennsylvania and principals of CivicVisions, LP; Silvia Kolbowski, faculty member from Parsons School for Design; and, Richard L. Waters, principal of Providence Associates, Inc., who has assisted PCPL with the development of the building program.

Ms. Syracuse emphasized that “Our process benefited enormously from the participation of area residents who know and understand the community coupled with the architectural experts who provided the vital and impartial architectural expertise required to assess such diverse submissions.” “We are extremely fortunate to have had as jury participants such a highly qualified and enthusiastic panel of library supporters, architects and library specialists,” she added.

The Building Task Force also engaged the assistance of several specialists to advise the design jury on certain specific issues. Participating advisors from the Pennsylvania Library System were Mary Garm, Administrator of the Lackawanna County Library System and Pamela Murphy, Library Consultant for the Scranton District of the state library system. Advice on building, engineering, cost and project management issues was provided by Matthew D. Michalek, Kevin M. Coolican, Charles J. Breig and James Facciolla of commercial construction specialist firm, L.R. Costanzo.

Biographies of Jury Members

Pike County Public Library Architectural Design Competition

Barbara Buchanan currently serves as Chair of the PCPL Building Task Force. Former President of the Pike County Public Library, Ms. Buchanan has devoted her time to numerous charitable organizations serving Pike County and northeast Pennsylvania. She is President of the Grey Towers Heritage Association, serves as a member of the Bon Secours Community Hospital Foundation and was recently awarded the Community Service Award from Bon Secours Community Hospital. Ms. Buchanan was also recently named Honorary Member of the Chamber of Commerce of Pike Count and was awarded the Annual Spirit of Rotary Award for Community Service in 2004.

Kenneth Frampton, Ware Professor of Architecture at Columbia University, is an architect and architectural historian. He has worked as an architect in England, Israel and the United States.

His numerous publications include Modern Architecture: A Critical History ; Labour, Work and Architecture , Studies in Tectonic Culture: The Poetics of Construction in 19th and 20th Century Architecture: and Le Corbusier.

Alastair Gordon, Milford resident and PCPL Task Force member, is an award-winning architectural journalist, historian and critic, whose articles regularly appear in The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, Condé Naste Traveler, Elle Décor and The New York Observer. He has authored numerous books on modern architecture, including Naked Airport, Weekend Utopia, Long Island Modern and Romantic Modernist: The Life and Work of Norman Jaffee. A graduate of the Lawrenceville School, Mr. Gordon holds a masters degree in fine arts from Yale University.

Betty Hague currently serves as Secretary of the Pike County Public Library Board of Directors. During her more than 30 years of volunteer service to PCPL, Ms. Hague has twice served as Board President. A Milford resident and retired advertising professional, she is a member of the Friends of the Library and a volunteer with Survivors’ Resources.

Silvia Kolbowski is an artist whose work addresses the ethics and politics of history, culture and the unconscious. She has collaborated with several architects on multidisciplinary projects and received two New York Foundation for the Arts Grants and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. She is on the faculty of the Parsons New School for Design.

Elisabeth Martin , AIA, is a principal in MDA design group international and has practiced architecture for over 20 years. She is president of the Center for Architecture Foundation and has been appointed to numerous positions within the American Library Association. Ms. Martin's experience in library planning, design and project management is extensive. She holds a Master of Architecture from Yale University.

Jonathan Marvel is principal in Rogers Marvel Architects, a multi-displinary practice of architects, landscape architects, urban designers, preservationists and product designers that work on a wide range of projects including museums, schools and public spaces. Mr. Marvel has extensive background designing significant cultural projects and is an architectural consultant to the New York Public Library System. He also is a faculty member in the Department of Architecture at the Parsons New School of Design.

Ellen Schaffner is Pike County Public Library Director, with responsibility for the library system, which includes the central branch in Milford, as well as branch facilities in Lackawaxen Township and Dingman Township. During her eleven-year tenure with PCPL, she has served in a number of positions, most recently as Associate Director. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, she spent the earlier part of her career in publishing and education. She is a member of the American Library Association, the Public Library Association and the Pennsylvania Library Association.

Susan Nigra Snyder , B.A., M.Arch, University of Pennsylvania, is a principal in CivicVisions. For the past 20 years, Ms. Snyder has taught at the University of Pennsylvania in the Fine Arts Department and Urban Design program. Her seminars investigate contemporary forces of material culture and consumer society on urban form and her research focuses on consumption, urban form and the civic realm.

Maleyne M. Syracuse, Chair of the PCPL Building Task Force and member of the PCPL Board of Directors, currently serves as a Managing Director and co-head of the Strategic Markets Coverage practice at JP Morgan Securities. She is a graduate of Brown University and the New York University Graduate School of Business. Her work with numerous non-profit organizations includes service as President of the Board of Directors of Peters Valley Craft Center and Treasurer of Vote to Keep Pike Green.

George Thomas, B.A., Ph. D. is an architectural historian and an adjunct faculty member in the University of Pennsylvania's Urban Studies and Historic Preservation program. An expert on 19th century American architect Frank Furness, he is the author of Frank Furness, The Complete Works. He is a principal in the Philadelphia-based firm, CivicVisions.

Richard L. Waters has been a library building consultant with Providence Associates, a library design and building consulting firm since 1989. Previously, . he spent 19 years with the Dallas Public Library where he served as Acting Director, Associate Director of Public Services, Chief of the Central Library, Chief of Branch Services, and Head of the Science and Industry Division. Other library experience includes posts with the Seattle Public Library, the Wichita (KS) Public Library, and the Public Libraries of Springfield-Greene County, Missouri. Hr is a member of the American Library Association and the Arizona Library Association. He is an adjunct professor of librarianship at The University of Arizona and Texas Woman's University. Mr Waters received his MLS from the University of Washington in 1966 and his BS from Southwest Missouri State University in 1960.