The Year in Architecture 2023

 

Overview: Modest, Yet Celebratory

Architects

Colors that pop, sophisticated meeting spaces, residential design elements, and more in this year’s top library design trends

A complete listing of the firms
that worked on this year’s
featured projects

 

Photos (l.-r.): Orchard Park Branch, Meridian Library District, ID. CSHQA, MSR Design, architects; Farm Kids Studio, photo.
Lorain Branch, Cleveland Public Library. HBM Architects, architect; Scott Esterley, photo.
The CORE, Cal State East Bay, Hayward, CA. carrier johnson + CULTURE, architect; ©Kyle Jeffers, photo.

 

The Data

Design Trends

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Trends in meeting and reading rooms suggest attention to shifts in remote and hybrid work environments. Built-in shelves, long wooden tables with integrated lighting, and classic wooden chairs make a comeback with contemporary twists.

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Gone are the rows upon rows of tall, fixed shelving in large, open areas. Custom-designed, small-scale shelving offers variety, sightlines, flexibility, and enhanced wayfinding, refining and evolving the concept of flexible, modular zones.

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A vibrancy of colors can be seen among the new builds and renovations. Pastels merge with saturated primary colors; lush organic hues and shapes fill reading nooks; and bold colors mark service areas and desks, key spaces to congregate, or alcoves to retreat into.

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As many have grown accustomed to spending more time at home, libraries continue to incorporate accessible, small-massed, and residential design elements. Buildings include vaulted roofs and window bump-outs; interiors feature plush carpeting, integrated display shelving in meeting rooms or small reading areas, and cozy fireplaces.

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Projects continue to integrate exterior spaces, offering patrons not only outdoor seating but also creative use of the grounds, plus an integration of experience built into the wayfinding, aesthetic, and interior layout within open areas.

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A palpable sense of celebration and cultural sensitivity is evident through color, choice of fabric, and the architectural program. These renovations and builds are anything but utilitarian, incorporating thoughtful details like imagery, materiality, and type into their spaces.

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