NatureMaker

Recently NatureMaker^® completed an installation at the new Collingwood Public Library in Ontario, Canada. After more than a decade of wishing, planning, detours and controversies, the library finally opened on April 6^th with people lined up before the doors opened. The three-story, 30,000-square-foot building consists of two library floors, a third floor to house municipal offices, a recording studio and meeting space and will be topped by a green roof. The project is pursuing a Gold Level LEED certification which would make it only the second library in Canada to achieve that status.

At the entrance to the children’s reading room stand two 12’ tall column clad oak Steel Art Trees^™. In addition there is one 9’ tall oak trunk mounted in the corner of the story time nook. NatureMaker Steel Art Trees help contribute to the LEED certification due to the fact that the trees produced use 75 percent recycled steel and other renewable materials. In addition, both the odorless and non toxic composite bark and the water-based paint contain no VOCs. According to Alicia Kilgour, the Children and Teens Services Supervisor, “We really wanted to create a magical space for children and I really feel that the trees have allowed us to do this.”

Savannah, GA’s Live Oak Public Library system recently opened its newest, state-of-the-art branch on the south side (Southwest Chatham) of the historic city. The library, Chatham County’s first to open in twenty years, is also its first LEED registered building. At 50,000 square feet, the southwest Chatham branch is the second largest library in the system. Watch video

In its effort to create a magical place for families to explore lifetime learning together in a welcoming environment, the library commissioned NatureMaker to create its first “Giving Tree” around a prominent structural column in the children’s department. Befitting the library’s moniker, as well as the region’s most famous tree, NatureMaker spent months researching the nuances of the live oak tree, including a detailed study of the bark texture, growth patterns, characteristics and so-called “imperfections.”

The structural column measures 10’ tall. NatureMaker’s design intent was to create the forced perspective of the oak tree growing beyond the first floor ceiling, as if the library had “preserved” a specimen tree on its property and built the children’s reading room around it. The intricate canopy of limbs, branches and foliage extends around 18’, providing a warm, nurturing ambiance that encourages reading and story telling under the mythical tree. Additional touches of whimsy and realism include Spanish moss that is seamlessly growing from some of the tree branches. The oak tree not only adds a decorative function to the column, it also creates a central focal point and meeting place for the children. The authentic look and feel of the trunk conveys a sense of “awe” that invites touch, close examination and sense of well-being.

Commemorative leaves are available to be added to the tree as an exceptional gift opportunity to honor and remember special friends of the library.

Live Oak Public Library’s architect, Greenline Architecture of Savannah, developed the original concept for the oak tree.

From concept through completion of installation, the project spanned almost two years. The custom handcrafting of the tree started in late 2008, on schedule for the library’s October 2009 grand opening.

In the past month, the library has been a major success for the community, generating widespread public interest and acclaim, as well as overflow crowds of library lovers young and old. Plans are now in the works for two new branch libraries.