Future-proofing the public library

ABSTRACT

To help guide the public library into the future, architectural design stands as a linchpin that bridges between vast amounts of proliferating information, the librarians who make sense of that information, and the library goers who engage and activate with that information. Future-proofing the public library calls for its evolution, where library buildings grow into new roles that serve as sensorial “idea gardens,” where the presence of virtual and augmented mediums complement the physical book, instead of displacing or replacing its many benefits. To create this type of bridge, it is the architectural design of the public library that can lead the way.

KEYWORDS:

• Adaptive sensory design
• digital media
• interactive environments
• library architecture design
• multi-sensory design

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Maria Lorena Lehman

Maria Lorena Lehman is a visionary architectural author, researcher, and designer focusing on links between architectural design, science, and new technologies. She is Founder of the Sensing Architecture ® Academy, and is recipient of the Harvard University Digital Design Prize for “the most creative use of digital media in relation to the design profession.” Maria Lorena Lehman holds a Bachelor of Architecture with Honors from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a Masters in Design with Distinction from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Lehman is author of the award-winning book Adaptive Sensory Environments. Through her continuing work in the field of architecture and design, Maria Lorena Lehman innovates creative process to compose elegant and beautiful solutions for twenty-first-century design challenges.