Architecture firm creates library wrapped in aluminium fins for Chicago’s Chinatown

SOM, one of the largest and most influential architecture, interior design, engineering, and urban planning firms in the world, made conspicuous use of aluminium made architectural components while conceiving the new Chinatown Branch Library in Chicago.

Encompassing 16,000 square feet (1,490 square metres), the new library is located in Chicago's Near South Side, on an urban site near a busy intersection and elevated metro station.

"The building sits at the key intersection of South Archer Avenue and South Wentworth Avenue – the nexus of Chicago's historic southern and emerging northern Chinatown neighbourhoods," the firm said.

The two-storey building with featuring a striking circular form has a double-layer glass curtain-wall that is wrapped with 118 vertical fins of varying heights. The louvres are made of anodised aluminium with a light bronze finish. The aluminium louvres are meant for reducing heat gain and glare while maintaining views of the neighbourhood for visitors inside the library. The roof, which is visible from a nearby metro station, is covered with native grasses. Inside, the programme areas are oriented around a central, double-height atrium.

"Like a traditional Chinese courtyard plan, all spaces connect to the central atrium room, providing clear orientation and spatial cohesion," the firm said.

Use of aluminium in construction has been picking up lately due to the metal's exceptional physical properties. It is lightweight, extremely formable, and yet has high a tensile strength by virtue of which it can bear weight just like traditional metals such as steel. Aluminium also yeields a suave look to contemporary buildings and architecture which makes it a metal of choice for engineers and architects alike.