Library's outreach building hits a bump

After the library sent in preliminary plans for the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library’s new downtown outreach building, the library board must work to revise their plans again to comply with the city’s Architectural Control Overlay District Design Guidelines.

The plans that were sent in proposed a building with steel covering, but the city did not approve of this structure.

The guidelines state that “most structures surrounding the court house square and the remaining railroad station area have various common elements which tie individual buildings into a common image. The elements include façade articulation, windows, roofs, entrance ways, heights of structure stories, and the height, orientation and bulk of the structures.”

The guidelines go on to state that their purpose is to “emphasize maintaining a building’s compatibility with neighboring buildings and with the streetscape in terms of the common elements.”

Kokomo-Howard County Public Library’s director Charles Joray said that the purposed steel building would be better insulated. “So we’d save money with utilities in the long run . . . But the city doesn’t want any metal on the north side or the west side above the windows or on the south side.  We had the architect look at some other possibilities.”

Architect Mike Montgomery with krM Architecture came up with some alternatives. Two possibilities included a building with brick to the bottom of the windows with a material similar to stucco above the windows and a building with brick to the bottom of the windows with concrete fiber board above the windows.

For new buildings, the city’s overlay guidelines state that “contemporary designs are encouraged as long as the design maintains the pattern established by existing structures on the same block.”

Design proposals for new buildings should be “compatible with the size, scale, color, material and character of the immediately surrounding structures, and those in the district.”

But, after working to cooperate with the city and cut costs where they can, the library board was not happy with the response they received.

“I know three committee members, when we talked about it, were very upset about the plan, and then we thought we’d paired everything down and had a reasonable thing and went to the city, and they indicated they were not happy with partial brick, and they wanted it clear east. And we were not happy about that, and then we asked Mike (Montgomery)’s office, in the spirit of cooperation, to share some things we could do to make this work that might not be as expensive.

Concrete Board Siding - News


Library's outreach building hits a bump

Two possibilities included a building with brick to the bottom of the windows with a material similar to stucco above the windows and a building with brick to the bottom of the windows with concrete fiber board above the windows.



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Cement or concrete siding names and roofer. - Winnipesaukee Forum

I have a two bedroom ranch with a walk out basement and attached garage. I want to learn about that newer material that is either concrete or cement? Is it colored all the way through? I don't want to have to have it painted. I saw some that seemed to be white on the inside under the paint? I also know of a garage that had a tan colored like stain look but the bottom board is now worn off and looks cream or white. Have any Forum members used this material? I would appreciate any information that you might be able to share. I also need a new roof. Would that be done first? Any other ideas on that? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. The siding is fiber cement board. Both James Hardie and Certainteed make the product. It can be bought and installed primed or prefinished. The prefinished has I believe a 30 yr product warranty, 15 yr finish. I bought mine primed, put one color coat on before installation and 2 finish coats after it was up. Unlike wood products the fiber board does not absorb moisture so the paint does not peel. The factory prefinish is recommended because it is applied and baked under controlled conditions. The down side is it will require touch up from handling during installation (nick and scratches), you pick from their colors and it's 1/3 more in price. They also offer a full trim line made from the same material. It's heavy, expensive, tough to work with, but when its done correctly it's bulletproof (not literally). There are more and more accesories avaible today for this product than just 10 years ago. Go to the James Hardie web site for all the info. Hello, my name is Scott Compton of Scott Compton Builder. I have enstalled a tremendous amount of cement siding both Hardie and Certainteed, primed and finished paint from the factory. This product can not get wet prior to installation or you will get a white chaulky film on the finished side they call "effervesce". It is my professional opinion to install cement siding with finished paint from factory, colored caulking provided, and one coat applied in the field either after installation or shortly after. I would be more than happy to provide you an estimate. I can be contacted at 603-279-1029 and you can also check my website out at www.scottcomptonbuilder.com . Just had our siding by NuCedar delivered yesterday. It is zero maintenance, as opposed to the "low maintenance" of Hardies and CertainTeed (which we looked at.


Concrete Board Siding - Bookshelf

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