A Grand Vision: The Halifax Central Library

Today I visited the new Halifax Central Library.  Wow.  I only had a few minutes before my bus to rush in to look around.  I am impressed.

It is a grand building undoubtedly, and beautiful.  What also struck me was that it is a people place.  People reading, chatting, studying, meeting, and, like me, gawking.  I remember some years ago attending a conference session of community spaces.  A European graduate student described her puzzlement when she first arrived in Halifax.  She wanted to find the 'piazza', the city plaza common in many European cities.  "Where do people meet here?" It was an interesting question. "At the mall maybe. or a local bar" we offered.  Once upon a time the community church was the meeting place in North American communities but regrettably few still play that role.  After all these years I think I have an answer to her question. For at least the folks on the peninsula the Halifax Central Library has the potential to be our piazza. 

I was struck with the many kinds of spaces in the library.  The Halifax Living Room of the top floor offered a spectacular view of the city but was also a quiet reading spaces.  A couple chatted on one sofa while another person curled up in a chair with a book.  It did have a living room feel.  Students clustered in alcoves and lone researchers worked away on laptops in semiprivate alcoves.  The coffee shops were alive with conversation.  And people checked out books; lots of them.  That is note worthy in such a high tech facility.

Some people will disagree with the design and style of the building.  Others might chaff at the cost of such a space.  I can see those concerns.  I'm not usually a fan of monumental construction myself.  I usually find an atrium a colossal waste of space (and I really hate skywalks).  The openness of this space however adds to its appeal as a community place.  I also admire the grandeur of the vision, something that Nova Scotia needs more of.  It is more than the architectural feat.  It is community building.  It is something as a city we can be proud of.  It is creating buzz. In a dying province we need that kind of thinking.

As I left the stood out front of the library waiting for my bus I came to a realization.  I am tired of little visions.  I want more grand visions; not just the same old tired ideas writ bigger.  I want to be part of transforming visions.  It needn't be buildings, but it needs to be outlandish.  Thanks Judith Hare and your team for being doggedly persistent.


Enjoy the brief tour from CBC. But trust me, you'll want to check it out yourself.

"Halifax Central Library", http://www.halifaxcentrallibrary.ca/
"Piazza Navona", Giorgos, May 7, 2007, Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/vintzileos/