An addition by architect Brent Bowman to the Manhattan Public Library in Manhattan, Kansas created an atrium for which the Bloomer Studio designed an elegant, burnished aluminum trellis. Surmounting the West wall, a residue of the original library, the expansive flat grid trellis spreads upward, terminating in a three-dimensional cornice. In front of this trellis, growing from trunks rooted in the floor of the library, the branches of twin trees curve gracefully skyward before merging with the cornice, forming a leafy canopy. Perched in the branches of the trees are a dueling mouse and frog, a lion caught in a net, and a leaping fox, each illustrating a fable of Aesop. These playful creatures engage the children’s library on the east side of the atrium.

Generated from the geometry of the basic architecture, the trellis both emphasizes the impressive scale of the atrium and mediates between its lofty skylight and the human scale of the lobby. The shimmering unpainted aluminum showers light upon one of Manhattan’s most beautiful and refined public rooms.

Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture, AIA Kansas, 2002