Opening its doors to pupils in 2021, St. Mary’s Calne School Library will act as a hub of inspiration and learning, with a striking design that incorporates the adjacent apple orchard and surrounding century-old buildings. From the western side along the main road that runs through the campus, the 660-square-meter edifice will appear as a simple, rectangular pavilion clad in brick and topped with an articulated roof of timber and glass. Upon entering, visitors are welcomed by a dynamic interior with each story having a distinct purpose and specified zones. While the ground floor is meant to be lively, aimed at group projects with direct access to an orchard adjacent to the library, the upper level is designed for more formal focused, individual studying.
Brick “bookends,” or separate ancillary forms along the northern and southern areas of the building’s perimeter provide storage, stair access, small project rooms, and warehouse control systems. To optimize the spaces available for learning and reading, conventional book racks are replaced with study booths, display zones, and shelving within the interior walls.
The glazed façade faces northeast to limit direct sunlight while illuminating the newly formed passage from the library to the gardens and orchard. Taking direct inspiration from the fruit trees, several structural support beams connect to the undulating interior-side of the roof to give the impression of a tree’s branches. Clerestory glazing enables the appearance of a floating roof and double height curtainwalls fill the spaces with daylight from the top. A metal detail is integrated throughout the façade to continue the vertical elements of the trees.
The scale and detail of the building is sympathetic to the architecture of the entire school in its elevations but deliberately modern in its composition. With the final touches achieved in November 2020, this building completes the western edge of the grounds’ central greenspace and provides a new academic haven for its students.
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