Bachelor's Puzzle. Ginger Chambers

ARE TWO WAYS to cut costs,” Robert said as he and Elise studied the plans. “We can make the library smaller, reduce the overall size. Or we can downscale the quality of the materials we use. I recommend we try a combination of the two.” He had thrown his jacket over the arm of her chair, his only concession to comfort.

      The set of blueprints unrolled on Elise’s cleared desk was an exact copy of the set the town council had on file. Elise knew almost every line by heart from her work with the other architect for the better part of three years.

      She tilted her head, frowning. “I’m not sure what you mean by ‘downscale the quality.’ How? What do you mean?”

      Robert grinned. “It’s the difference between a gold toilet seat and a brass one. Does it really make any difference to the user?”

      Elise stared at him, then she, too, started to grin.

      He continued. “I’m exaggerating, but you see what I mean. Your town council went first class on this structure...which is fine. People want to be proud of their public buildings, which they think reflect the community. Chambers of Commerce love this attitude. They put pictures of first-class buildings in all their brochures to get people to visit here, to move here. Look! See what a progressive place Tyler is? Look at the new library we’ve built ourselves. Gold toilet seats!”

      Elise started to giggle.

      Robert’s eyes twinkled. “There are degrees of quality. My job is to help you decide just exactly how much quality you want and can afford and where you want to put it.” He turned to a booklet of photocopied specifications. “For example, these windows. This particular brand costs a small fortune. There’s no reason why something less expensive can’t work equally as well. And these crown moldings. Same thing. I know where we can find something just as good for a lot less. Then we get to the library plan itself....” He looked at her. “See what I mean?”

      Elise nodded.

      He went on, “There’s a lot of space here that’s wasted. I know!” He raised a hand as if to ward off attack. “But there is. When you have lots of money, space is wonderful. When you don’t...”

      Elise saw herself sitting in a brand-new library with barely enough room to turn around. She protested, “But we have to have space. Patrons need to feel they have room to breathe, not to mention the staff! And the books...do you know books need air, too?”

      Robert nodded. “As a matter of fact, I do. I also know you followed all the standards for library design, and I’m not talking about cutting anything there. I’m talking about the extras.” He flipped back through the plan until he arrived at the page he wanted. “Exactly how important is this atrium?”

      Elise had loved the idea of bringing the out-of-doors inside. Wide sheets of glass would seal any moisture away from the book collection, so that patrons and staff alike could be treated to more than just the odd pot plant stationed forlornly on the circulation and reference desks. Looking forward to tending the area herself, she had already started to research which plants would be better suited. She shook her head. “Not important enough to keep us from building the library.”

      Robert agreed. “Now, consider the curved stairway. What if, instead of having it where it is, taking up so much space...what if we move it to one side and straighten it out a bit....” While he talked, he began to make a quick succession of strokes with a red pen.

      Fascinated, Elise watched as Robert’s ideas were transformed into a picture. With relatively little effort, he captured the feel of the main circulation area, deleting the atrium and shifting the stairway. Then with a few additional strokes, he sketched in the work areas, the new computerized cataloging system, even a few people, one of whom was sitting at a terminal and scratching his head at the mysteries of advanced technology. The people weren’t really people in the traditional sense of the word. But with a few practiced squiggles and swirls, Robert had given them life and form.