Lot with Little
Friends of the Cerritos Library Donor Recognition Wall
Cerritos, CA
Studio Wilks
Richard Wilks (Principal in Charge), Adrea Mondelli, Sepi Banibashar
Scenario Design
Waynn Pearson (Cerritos City Librarian), Cerritos Library
Yoram Makow; Dave Barron, W.Y.D
Padmini Prabhakar
The Cerritos Library Friends Wall was conceived to acknowledge the support and dedication of the Friends who were instrumental in laying the foundation for what has become the city's crown jewel. The library is known for its progressive design and innovative programs.
The design challenge was to create a sophisticated, elegant, low-cost, flexible design solution that could be updated by library personnel. The physical challenge was that the wall was located in a narrowing corridor. The theme of "touch" guided the process as it related to many aspects of the project: the notion of integrating a touch screen, the community who have been emotionally touched by the Friends' devotion, and the physical touch of the books, which have been held, used, and reused by countless people. Used paperback books communicate the emotional links between the people and the books, using the spine of the books to recognize the Friends' names.
A simple color scheme using whites and grays conveys the graphic information. Used books were sprayed with white paint and grey vinyl lettering was applied to the spine. To distinguish between the two categories (Life Members and Donors), the colors were reversed. The notion of a library shelf is turned on its side by stacking the books, allowing the library staff to delete and insert books and maintain alphabetical order for both categories.
"This project seems to be successful on several levels, from recognizing the friends and community who helped build the library to honoring them. The very vehicle (used books) adds to the flexibility and sustainability of the installation."