Library Love - Orlando

It’s been a bit since our short time in Orlando and I recently ran across some photos that I took of the public library. An instagram friend said “If you only have time for one stop, it should be the John Johansen library. It's a beast, a wonderful concrete beast-easily my favorite building in all of Orlando.” How’s that for a recommendation?

For a brutalist architecture lover like me walking around downtown and seeing this building was a treat. The image above shows the Wall St. elevation.

Architect: John Johansen with Robert Murphy, 1966; 1986 addition by Duane Stark (Schweizer Inc.)

From the article “The Age of Concrete: The Orlando Public Library” by Chris Madrid French

In 1962, the citizens of Orlando passed a Civic Improvements Bond issue that provided a million dollars to replace the Albertson Public Library, a Neoclassical-style structure that opened in 1923. For the new building, at the corner of Rosalind Avenue and Central Boulevard in downtown, the city selected the Connecticut-based architect John Johansen (1916-2012) to create a signature design that represented an expansive new era in Central Florida. Johansen was one of the “Harvard Five,” influential architects who studied with Walter Gropius, himself a pioneer in modernism and the founder of the Bauhaus, a significant design school in 1930s Germany.

For the Orlando Public Library, Johansen conceived a series of concrete towers and boxes held in position at various heights by strong piers. The building featured rough-hewn cedar patterns embedded in its poured-concrete walls, surrounding an interior open space with a rooftop patio overlooking nearby Lake Eola.

Johansen’s library was envisioned as the first stage of a main library for Orlando and Orange County; future additions were planned as part of the original design.

The library’s expansion was planned in a style similar to the existing building – all concrete, from the floor to the roof, and in prime Brutalist form. Designed by local firm Schweizer Incorporated, it opened in April 1986.

Shown above is the Rosalind Ave elevation, the east facing side.

Below, an image of main entrance.

I liked the way the light shown softly on the concrete below.

Below, a corner lookup.

We did step inside but I generally try to respect the privacy of the library patrons. Plus, my partner in travel is less of an archinerd as me so I make do with a quick photo here and there.

I’ll share a future post of another cool John Johansen building I happened to walk by in Dublin - the US Embassy there.