Billie Jean King Library Virtual Tour

Photo Credit: © Benny Chan | Fotoworks

Billie Jean King Library Virtual Tour

This is a virtual event. Zoom log-in information will be emailed to registrants 24 hours in advance from events@aialosangeles.org. If you do not receive a confirmation 24 hours prior to the event, please email events@aialosangeles.org.

AIALA Committee: Committee On The Environment (COTE)

CES Units: 1 LU (Applying)

Project Designed by: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

From the early conceptual stages dating back to 2014, the City of Long Beach, library staff, and design team shared a vision of the new library and park as a place for the neighborhood to gather. The intent was to create a building not just to keep books, but a space alive with activity—a warehouse of knowledge and unique community center. The Billie Jean King Main Library was imagined as a pavilion within the new Lincoln Park, welcoming people inside from all parts of the city.

To make the project financially feasible, a public-private partnership (P3) was formed to allow the developer to assume construction and maintenance responsibilities of the finished buildings with the city paying rent for the first 40 years of occupancy. The framework and team structure of the P3 delivery method allowed multidisciplinary teams to form lines of open communication and identify shared project goals among themselves as well as with the City of Long Beach and library staff very early in the design process.

The team focused on creating a sustainable, now LEED Platinum Certified, timber structure that provides a light-filled, open, and warm interior environment. To achieve this vision, the glulam timber girders, joists, and plywood decking comprising the superstructure are intentionally left exposed, contributing to a captivating interior atmosphere. The building envelope, composed of unitized curtainwall system, is also designed to maximize daylight and views while mitigating glare and solar radiation.

Because the project will be maintained by the developer over the next four decades, quality and durability were the focus of many discussions over the course of five years—from design conception to completion of the library. The design-build team and client had a shared goal to maximize value and fine-tune solutions to achieve best possible outcome for the city and its community.

Presenters:

Jose Luis Palacios, AIA, Design Director, SOM
José Luis Palacios is Design Director for SOM’s Los Angeles studio. With over three decades of professional experience his focus has been in the ‘making” of buildings, offering simple and artful solutions to complex problems that entail immense technical knowledge and a profound attention to detail. Through innovative design thinking and effective leadership, Jose’s role as a leader in the design of large-scale buildings and urban planning projects has been well recognized. His outstanding body of work extends over a broad range of building types including corporate offices, build-to-suit campus environments, transportation related projects, as well as an array of civic and government office and public safety complexes including the Los Angeles County Superior Courthouse in Long Beach, California, the Police Administration Building for the Los Angeles Police Department and the new LEED® Platinum-certified Los Angeles Federal Courthouse, which won the AIA’s highest awards for design and sustainability.

Roshanak Mostaghim, Senior Designer, SOM
Roshanak Mostaghim is a Senior Designer in SOM’s Los Angeles studio, with more than 10 years of experience. She has worked on projects across a broad range of building typologies in the United States and overseas. Roshanak is interested in resolving complex technical challenges, and is an advocate for sustainable design. Most recently, Roshanak worked on Building 4 at Row DTLA in Los Angeles, an adaptive reuse of a former manufacturing building, redesigned to provide collaborative office space for a technology and entertainment company. Roshanak’s projects have been honored for design excellence by the American Institute of Architects. She holds a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering from the University of Art, Tehran, and a Master of Architecture from the University of Nottingham.

Zarmine Nigohos, Associate, SOM
Zarmine Nigohos is an Associate in SOM’s Los Angeles studio, with more than 13 years of experience. She holds a B.A. in Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and has recently begun coursework toward a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering, focused on Materials and Manufacturing. Zarmine has taught Applied Studies courses at SCI-Arc revolving around methods and benefits of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Parametric/Associative geometry modeling and the value. As such, she is a technical design expert, as well as an advocate for embracing unconventional workflows and technologies to facilitate imaginative, sustainable, and cost-effective design and delivery. Most recently, Zarmine worked on the Billie Jean King Main Library, the first heavy timber building in Long Beach, and her projects have been honored for design excellence by the American Institute of Architects and the American Institute of Steel Construction.

Billie Jean King
A native of Long Beach, Billie Jean King has long been a champion for social change and equality, in addition to her legendary tennis career. She created new inroads for all genders in and out of sports and at 77, she continues to make her mark. Founder of the Woman’s Sports Foundation, Billie Jean King is the definition of JEDI—embodying justice, equality, diversity and inclusion.

Learning Objectives:
+ Understanding the P3 delivery method and the roles of the different parties
+ Understanding the code implications of heavy timber construction
+ Understanding the importance and techniques of coordination between the various trades
+ Understanding material properties and constraints of mass timber