As part of our work on the renovations at the Boston Public Library’s Central Library in Copley Square, we were asked to develop a concept for a large wall in the renovated lobby. After vetting many ideas, we proposed a simple mosaic that combined two things near and dear to the BPL’s heart: books and Boston.
The mosaic, which features an interpretation of the city of Boston, is created entirely out of hardcover books which were purchased from a local used bookshop or donated for the project. Each book was scanned in order to complete the layout electronically. This allowed us to see the entire mural, refine details, and move books around easily while protecting them for the installation. The full-sized mural was then laid out by hand for final refinements. Once the design was approved by the BPL, each book was tagged and then sent to the fabricator to be sealed, sprayed, and securely attached to backer panels for installation.
The mosaic is another innovative and engaging piece of art for the Boston Public Library, which celebrated the grand reopening of the Central Library in July of 2016.
Project Details
location
Boston, MA
client/owner
Boston Public Library
categories
Graphics
Awards
BOSTON PRESERVATION ALLIANCE
PRESERVATION ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, 2017
AIA/ALA
LIBRARY BUILDING AWARD, 2017
PRESERVATION MASSACHUSETTS
THE PAUL & NIKKI TSONGAS AWARD BIGGEST IMPACT-URBAN, 2017
BOSTON SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
MERIT AWARD FOR DESIGN, 2017
CONGRESS FOR THE NEW URBANISM
CHARTER AWARD, GRAND PRIZE, 2017
ASSOCIATION OF GENERAL CONTRACTORS (AGC)
BUILD NEW ENGLAND AWARD, 2017
ENR NEW ENGLAND
AWARD, 2017
CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
NEW ENGLAND PROJECT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, 2017
ILLUMINATING ENGINEERING SOCIETY
SECTION AWARD, 2017
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Architectural Plans / Process
The design team made many trips to the book store to select the right sizes and colors.
Sometimes the books were a little hard to reach.
Once the books were scanned, they were carefully numbered and organized by color.
If you look closely, there are some interesting books in the mural; quite a few of them are about cats!
Book counts were constantly updated to track which colors were still needed.
The entire mural was laid out so we could make final adjustments.
Mystic Scenic created a mock-up to test assembly methods and ensure the panels could conform to the curved wall.
Mystic Scenic created a mock-up to test assembly methods and ensure the panels could conform to the curved wall.
Each book was drilled and mechanically attached to the backer panels.
Each book was drilled and mechanically attached to the backer panels.