Rolling into town this February, what architectural and laymen critics alike have derided as a "tank," "fortress," "bunker," or even a "Star Wars Sand Crawler," the Stanley A. Milner Library will celebrate its grand opening in a mere matter of months. Bemoaned coast-to-coast as an architectural travesty, with only a few dissenting voices to the contrary, Edmonton's newest, most visible piece of public, civic architecture, appears to be in real danger of going down in history as a broadly-perceived mistake. 

Stanley A. Milner Library, covered in a grey veil of corrugated metal, image by Forum contributor Daveography

More than this, as per the above-mentioned commentary, the library appears to many as a massive, missed opportunity to build something that would have shown the world what Edmontonians are made of. Furthering the sense of embarrassment no doubt, especially among locals, is the fact that the recently completed New Central Library in friendly rival Calgary, is a standalone masterpiece, aesthetically superior in every sense of the word. 

Stanley A. Milner Library, close-up view, image by Forum contributor Daveography

Designed by Architecture | Tkalcic Bengert and Teeple Architects, the new Stanley A. Milner Library has been wrapped almost entirely in corrugated metallic paneling - resembling an industrial shed or compound - punctuated here and there by spare slivers of glass. Taking inspiration from the STEM-heavy focus of the new library, which will house several state-of-the-art learning facilities related to the sciences, the stark nature of the structure appears to have taken its visual cues a tad too literally. 

Stanley A. Milner Library, glass cladding wrapping up, image by Forum contributor Daveography

Nevertheless, once inside, visitors to the library will be able to focus on the splendours of the new facility, which along with housing a vast catalogue of reading materials, will feature a robotics lab, 3D printers, a fully-equipped music room, and art studios. Love it or hate it, the Stanley A. Milner Library is here to stay, its architectural shortcomings to erode in time as the library becomes a fixture of the downtown core. 

SkyriseEdmonton will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.