July 2013 – Approval to Proceed with Design: As a result of FY14 City of Boston Capital Budget approval, the Boston Public Library is excited to see its Johnson Building Improvement project move from conceptual planning into the next stage of formal design to be followed by construction activities for phase 1 work. This next stretch of work will see formal design commence immediately and once complete, construction of the phase 1 scope will begin later in 2013. Formal design activities for later phases will also commence in July 2013, but are not planned to go forward into construction until phase 1 is mostly complete, the necessary Boston Landmarks Commission approvals are obtained and the total project budget is approved, hopefully as part of the FY15 multi-year capital budget request.

Phase 1 Green Light: Phase 1 involves renovating the second floor of the Johnson Building, which will encompass a new children’s area and teen zone, as well as a refurbished area for collections and reference. This phase will also begin to address long-delayed mechanical, electrical, and other building infrastructure improvements on this floor.

Where we started: The initial focus began with the following areas: the need for a larger newly renovated children’s room, a new teen area, an improved lobby and entry way, a new books area that would have a “living room” feel, a possible conference center space and potential commercial or enterprise use of underutilized space.

A preview of Future Phases: While the remaining areas listed above span the concourse, first, and mezzanine levels and the exterior, to achieve the other goals of the overall project, a full renovation of space on the first floor and its services is now being considered, including a relocated circulation services area, a relocated tech central and training lab as well as improved access to first floor collections – movies and music, new books, and the holds pickup areas in particular. Also being considered is a new learning center space with the world languages collection. Other items under consideration for later phases include the loading dock, relocated staff break room as well as the connector corridor between the Johnson and McKim buildings and its current complicated manner for addressing  accessibility standards and best practices. The exact scope and number of later phases remains under consideration.

Schedule: Preparations are now underway which will likely involve closing the second floor of the Johnson Building to the public in October 2013, with phase 1 construction beginning in December. Plans to relocate affected services and ensure collection access during construction are currently being developed.

David Leonard

Director of Administration & Technology

David’s portfolio includes Capital Projects and is the overall lead BPL administrator for the Johnson Building Improvement Project

Boston Public Library will host a series of four roundtables to update library users and interested residents on the Johnson Building Improvement Project.

The first roundtable will feature an overview of the master planning process. The meeting will take place on Thursday, August 15, at 6:00 p.m. in the Boston Room at the Central Library in Copley Square, located at 700 Boylston Street. Additional roundtables will be held:

• Wednesday, September 25, at 6:00 p.m. in the Mezzanine Conference Room at the Central Library in Copley Square.
• Monday, October 21, at 6:00 p.m. as an online community chat via www.bpl.org/compass.
• Thursday, November 14, at 6:00 p.m. in the Boston Room at the Central Library in Copley Square.

“We have greatly benefitted from community and staff input throughout the master planning process,” said Michael Colford, director of library services. “And we look forward to even more conversation and engagement with library users in the months to come.”

The Johnson Building, which opened in 1972, is the portion of the Central Library in Copley Square that is at the corner of Boylston and Exeter Streets. In the summer of 2012, the library issued a request for proposals for help in exploring ideas on how to improve visitors’ first impressions of the Johnson Building, enrich library services and spaces, and create a positive financial impact for the library. Initial efforts to develop ideas for the Johnson Building began in November 2012 when a community advisory committee was formed and continued when the firm William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc. was selected to lead the master planning process. The community advisory committee met through the winter and spring. The library hosted a January 2013 roundtable on its Community Gathering principle where the Johnson project was discussed and an April 2013 public program on the Johnson project specifically. In addition, the library collected ideas and suggestions on improving the Johnson Building through an interactive display in the center atrium. More than 375 comments were compiled from the display. The library will put up a second display this fall to collect additional comments and will continue to provide project updates via this blog.

This content is extracted from the July 15, 2013, media release: Boston Public Library to Host Roundtables on Johnson Building Improvement Project.

The fifth Johnsonian principle is Structure and Rationality – structural clarity in planning. The Central Library’s Johnson Building is organized into a nine-section or nine-square grid. In the image above, the “A” section is the entrance to the building facing Boylston Street  and the “B” section is where the children’s room is currently located. The letters are used simply to identify each section of the nine-square grid.

Johnson’s words about structure and rationality include: “(At BPL) I kept the nine squares as the expression and did not try to put a façade on it. In other words, the nine squares were represented in all three facades.”