For many years now, people have been fool by appearances. Someone may
look at the exterior of an object and expect one thing when actually the exact
opposite is waiting inside for them. For example, an unexpecting person picks
off a grape from the bunch and bites into the fruit while dreaming of a mouthful
of juicy, sweet grape but in reality receives a surprisingly bitter splash with
the first bite. Or when a person first looks at a power vision 3-D picture
they only see mass chaos until a few short seconds later a sailboat evolves out
of the picture floating among the earlier seen chaos. When visiting Madison,
Wisconsin, someone may pass by the UW-Fieldhouse and mistake it as a barn
instead of a basketball arena. So too, the Karrmann Library can be easily
mistaken for a bank as you come upon it from the exterior.
The first feature about the Elton S. Karrmann Library that makes it seem
as if it were a bank is the solid construction of the library. Much like the
construction of a bank, the library was also constructed with security and
protection in mind. Also, the impressive exterior of the library resembles that
of a modern bank. The concrete support pillars not only add strength but also
give the library this impressive look of a bank. These light white-grayish,
square pillars are 2 by 2 ft. and almost half the way up them there are two
engraved lines that run all the way around them about 6 in. from the other.
Concrete, a sign of strength, is also used in the patio around the tower
entrance. This grayish colored concrete was poured in slabs of 3 by 3 ft.
sections. Concrete was also used as dividers between floors. Between each
floor, the redish-brown, 4 by 8 in. bricks are split up by a light grayish
horizontal concrete layer. The items used in the construction of this building
show the strength
needed for the protection of a bank.
Secondly, the setting of the Karrmann Library is unique and creative,
like a modern bank, ...