McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Redpath Library Extension
File
127 drawings: 12 ink on linen; 2 ink on paper; 2 ink on card; 76 pencil on paper; 1 watercolour on paper; 32 blueprints, 2 photostats
9 photographs
University library (addition: second extension to stacks); stone; wall bearing.
2 survey drawings: site plan
8 measured drawings: floor plans, elevations, coal stove, section
8 sketch drawings: floor plans, elevation, sections, exterior perspective
2 presentation drawings: perspectives
6 development drawings: floor plans
12 working drawings: floor plans, roof plan, elevations, sections
57 detail drawings: stonework (incl. exterior, pedestal, chimney vent), woodwork (including trims), entrance, plaster cornice, windows, architrave, leaded glass, ironwork (including pump guard, grilles, stair, railing, windows), staircase, structure, doors, sump pit, screens, closets, book lift, lighting, pipe casing, radiator platform, lettering
24 shop drawings: stonework (including gable, elevations, oriel window, porch, vent stack), library stacks, shelving, structural plans 5 consultant drawing; floor plans, structure, sections
3 record drawings: site plan, floor plans, elevations
6 photographs: 1 perspective; 1 construction; 4 finished exteriors
3 photographs: Redpath Hall
Translation of exterior inscriptions: "Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est" (There is power in knowledge itself); "Sapiens Dominabitur Astris" (The wise shall have dominion over the stars); "Fiat lux" (Let there be light). The Canadian Architecture Collecion is currently housed in this building.
“The University Library Extension stands out as an example of Nobbs urban design civility. Not only did he use the traditional building material of the campus, Montreal grey limestone, but he also complemented the existing Redpath Library structure (designed by Andrew Taylor, in spite of the fact that he disliked eclectic buildings. Susan Wagg’s assessment of this building in her monograph on Percy Nobbs is insightful. ‘Clasped between the end towers of the old building, Nobbs’s elegant addition, with its simplified lines and shape, created a fitting conclusion – both visually and stylistically - to the architectural sequence that unfolded along McTavish Street.” --Norbert Schoenauer, “Percy Erskine Nobbs: Teacher and Builder of Architecture,” Fontanus: from the Collections of McGill University 7 (1996) : 51.