Tower of Reading Power
The people of Denver, Colorado, like to read. When their old central library began showing its age, they called on renowned architect Michael Graves to design a new structure that would serve them well into the twenty-first century. A major problem with the old library was that the collection was in stacks closed to the public or in warehouses. With the new library, the people of Denver wanted a space that was as easy to access as it was beautiful.
Graves designed the library to acknowledge the Colorado landscape, as well as the history of the Old West. For the Western Reading Room he designed a replica of a wooden oil derrick that supported a wagon wheel. He asked the engineering services division of Bensonwood to draw up the plans, create the timbers and joinery and then assemble the elaborate structure on site.
Old-growth Douglas fir timbers, salvaged from the Long-Bell mill in Longview, Washington, were recycled and remilled for this project. After the milling and joinery details were completed in New Hampshire, the timbers were shipped to Denver.
With the roof already on the new library, using a crane to lift the timbers in place was not an option. Working like a craftsman building a ship in a bottle, Bensonwood's renowned Beam Team assembled the timbers inside the fifth floor of the enclosed building, using cables and rigging to lift timbers one at a time into the exceedingly tight space.
The Denver Derrick at the Denver Central Library is a remarkable structure. The 42 ft. tall octagonal tower, with its canted posts, sits in the center of the circular Western Reading Room. Michael Graves wanted a centerpiece for the building reminiscent of Western images (look closely to see a wagon wheel balanced on an oil derrick.) Bensonwood's Beam Team assembled the 12 in. square posts inside a chaotic construction site in close quarters, with just 1-3/8 in. to spare.
ARCHITECTURE MICHAEL GRAVES & ASSOCIATES, PRINCETON NJ
CONTRACTOR TURNER CONSTRUCTION CO.