Landmark Library

CSUF’s new Madden Library redefines regional significance

By Greg Aragon

The $110 million Madden Library at California State University, Fresno, will create more than a just a modern book repository.

When the project opens in December, it will also stand as a symbolic tribute to the history and culture of the Fresno region.

“We envision the Madden Library to be a landmark in the San Joaquin Valley,” said David C. Martin, design partner with Los Angeles-based AC Martin Partners, which is designing the project in association with Hillier Architecture of New York.

Located in the heart of the Fresno campus, the 352,295-sq-ft library project consists of the construction of a 283,600-sq-ft library addition and a 68,695-sq-ft renovation to the existing library building.

Swinerton Builders of San Francisco is serving as construction manager.

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Construction began in August 2006 with the demolition of the library’s existing north wing to make room for the addition. While this work is going on, the library’s south wing remains open. When the addition is complete on June 1, all library operations will move into the north wing and the renovation of the south side will begin.

“We are mindful that we are working in the middle of a functioning campus, on a very tight site,” Sara Wallet, the school’s project manager. “The library is next to dorms and class rooms, so we have to be sure that the lines of communications are open and that we let the campus community know ahead of time if there is anything noisy coming up.”

Wallet, who is also a graduate of Cal State Fresno, says the tight site is making it difficult to place deliveries. “There is not enough lay-down area, so the majority of the materials are brought on-site in time to be put into to place,” she adds.

The five-story project will have a structural steel framework, with exterior precast panels on the west, south and east elevations. A 300-ft-long glass curtain wall will span the entire length of the north side.

Martin said the design will incorporate themes of the Fresno community, including “cultural elements” of the local Table Mountain Indians, who donated $10 million to the project.

He adds that the 30-ft. by 15-ft precast panels will not only block the sun, but will also feature a textured, grayish pattern “reminiscent of the texture of fields, like an aerial photograph of the Fresno agrarian community.”

Martin says the glass curtain wall, which will look onto the school’s Peach Garden, will add transparency to the building.

“When people go to the library, they gravitate to the wall or window to study, so we imagined the north wall to be a marvelous experience to sit along the wall and study,” he says.

At the end of the north wall will be the library’s four-story, main entrance. Shaped like an elliptical cone, with “three layers of weaving,” it will be a “metaphor representing a basket of knowledge,” says Martin.

When complete, the library will be capable of housing two million volumes.

The Henry Madden Library was named in 1981, after Dr. Henry Madden, who served as library director from 1949 to 1979. The library originally opened in 1956 as the Fresno College Library.

The Project Team

Owner:
California State University, Fresno

Construction Manager:
Swinerton Builders, San Francisco

Architect:
AC Martin, Los Angeles, in association with Hillier Architecture, New York

Structural engineer:
AC Martin, Los Angeles

HVAC:
American Inc., Visalia

Mechanical:
HPS Mechanical, Bakersfield

Electrical:
Collins Electric, Fresno

Structural steel:
Olson and Co., San Leandro

Concrete:
J.J. Albanese, Santa Clara

Precast concrete:
Clark Pacific, West Sacramento

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