St Kilda Library, Public library in St Kilda, Australia
St Kilda Library is a concrete building at 150 Carlisle Street designed by Enrico Taglietti, raised one metre above street level and reached by a ramp through the 1990s entry wing. Its exposed concrete is bush-hammered or shows the grain of timber board formwork, and untreated softwood boards form the roof, eaves, ceiling, window frames and an internal pyramidal roof. It sits between Carlisle Street and Duke Street, with parking and a plant room underground entered from Duke Street.
The foundation stone was laid in August 1972 and the building opened in May 1973 with a ceremony led by the Governor of Victoria. An extension was added between 1992 and 1994 by architects Ashton Raggatt McDougall.
The library's name and role come from the suburb it serves, St Kilda, in the City of Port Phillip. Its 1973 building by Milan-born architect Enrico Taglietti became a local landmark, and in 2007 Taglietti received the RAIA Gold Medal. In 2012/2013 the library recorded over 365,000 visits.
The library sits at 150 Carlisle Street, wedged between Carlisle Street to the south and residential Duke Street to the north. The ground floor is raised one metre above street level and reached by a ramp through the entry wing added in the 1990s extension. Underground parking and a plant room are entered from Duke Street.
The first book borrowed after the 1973 opening was a biography of Wilfrid Kent-Hughes, chosen by Commander R.S. Veale, who had chaired the 1953 library promotion committee. The library's foundation stone was laid in August 1972 by Ivan Trayling, the mayor who had campaigned for a library as a councillor from 1967.
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