Library Buildings 2007: Going, Going, Green

The year in architecture offered grand façades, creative collaborations, and calamities overcome and viewed as opportunities. The 168 public building projects and 21 academic facilities completed between July 1, 2006, and June 30, 2007, are truly allowing us to catch sight of the future.

One caveat before we plunge into the wealth of fascinating detail. For the third year, LJ has employed an online data collection tool. As wonderful as technology is, when it malfunctions, all heck breaks loose. Our apologies to any library whose project was submitted electronically but not reported here. We might just revert to paper forms in the future.

After noting the preponderance of teen spaces (“Betwixt and Be Teen,” LJ 12/06, p. 42ff.), this year we are acknowledging “green” spaces. Many libraries reported here achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification (e.g., William Wise Law Library, University of Colorado Boulder School of Law; MacArthur Park Branch, Long Beach Public Library, CA; Broward County South Regional/Broward Community College Library, FL; Harbor City–Harbor Gateway Branch, LAPL; Portsmouth Public Library, NH), while still others incorporated sustainable design principles into their projects (Hillview Branch, San José, CA, and the Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library, NY). Daylighting (“controlled admission of natural light through windows to reduce or eliminate electric lighting”), air quality upgrades, renewable resources, water reuse principles, low-voltage lighting fixtures, energy efficiency, and native plants are just some of the checklist items for an ecofriendly facility.

The libraries sharing space are exhibiting their own brand of conservation, as costs and planning fall on multiple shoulders. Two branches of the Arlington County Public Library, VA, are cooperative community projects, one neighboring with the well-known Signature theater. The Cañada College Library and Resource Center, San Mateo, CA, links to a community amphitheater. And speaking of theaters, the Kansas City Central Library's, MO, film vault was recast into a state-of-the-art screening room after a generous donation from the Stanley H. Durwood Foundation.

The projects do seem to be getting larger and larger. The San Mateo Public Library Main library, CA, stands tall at $64.8 million, with plenty of parking below ground. The main and system headquarters of the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, IN, is an impressive addition/remodel that totes up to $66.6 million. At over $1.1 billion, the total outlay for all projects is the second highest LJ has ever recorded.

Fewer academic projects were submitted this year; maybe it was that techno glitch again. Still, our 21 projects feature some handsome support to our educational infrastructure. Some highlights are the Belk Library and Information Commons at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC; the Beatley Library at Simmons College in Boston; and the Hill Library at North Carolina State University, Raleigh.

For libraries moving forward with building projects, green seems to be the color of choice with regard to both funding and design decision-making. We are not abandoning our built libraries with the advent of the Internet but trying to make them more long-lasting, more environmentally sound, more responsible as community centers and civic innovators. Everyone else will be green with envy.