Structure studio BuildingWork drew upon historic buildings and Indigenous tradition to create the cedar-clad La Conner Swinomish Library in a maritime neighborhood within the Pacific Northwest.
The constructing is situated in La Conner, a small city alongside the Swinomish Channel in northern Washington.
Located alongside a essential avenue within the city’s historic district, the constructing was designed with a sensitivity for the encompassing context, mentioned Seattle-based BuildingWork.
For a comparatively compact, nook lot, the architects conceived a single-storey library that totals 5,400 sq. ft (502 sq. metres). The constructing consists of two conjoined volumes that kind an oblong plan.
Inside, one finds a spread of areas, together with a gathering room, workers work areas and devoted studying areas for kids, teenagers and adults.
The constructing has a concrete basis, and cross-laminated timber (CLT) was used for the structural system.
The CLT panels have been manufactured in Washington and made from native Douglas fir. The panels have been left uncovered on the inside, making a “heat and welcoming surroundings”, the staff mentioned.
Exterior facades are clad in cedar – the primary quantity is painted creamy white, and the opposite quantity is rendered in a darkish gray. A font created specifically for this undertaking was used to make a brick-coloured signal saying the library.
Alongside the roof, a projecting cornice nods to the library’s historic context. In the same vein, the staff included a modern-style bay window.
“Framed in metal, and with floor-to-ceiling glass, the bay window is a up to date component that speaks to each previous and new,” the staff mentioned.
“BuildingWork designed the characteristic to supply transparency into the nice and cozy studying room past, in addition to views of the primary avenue from inside – an inviting gesture positioned towards these driving by city.”
The library’s design was knowledgeable by strict design tips within the city’s historic district. The architects studied the city’s historical past and current constructing inventory, looking for parts to attract upon.
Moreover, the design responds to the wants and pursuits of the close by Swinomish Indian Tribal Group. The tribe’s involvement within the undertaking was extremely vital.
“Though the city of La Conner and the Swinomish reservation are bodily adjoining, they’ve been separated by historical past, tradition and the advanced legacies of settler colonialism,” the staff mentioned.
“Throughout the course of, the library shaped a project-altering partnership with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Group, ensuing within the tribe turning into closely concerned within the undertaking and one among its largest benefactors.”
Among the many parts honouring the Swinomish Tribe is a standard story pole on the library’s entrance.
Drawing upon iconography from the Swinomish tribe and the bigger ethnic group referred to as Coast Salish, the 18-foot-tall (5.5-metre) picket pole – made out of a cedar log – options carvings of an Indigenous individual, two circling salmon and an eagle.
The pole was designed and crafted by Swinomish elder and grasp carver Kevin Paul and his son-in-law Camas Logue (Klamath-Modoc).
“BuildingWork labored with Kevin Paul to change the design of the library with the intention to combine the artwork piece and its cultural expression into the undertaking, reshaping a part of the constructing to successfully body the storey pole and incorporating its precise paint colors into the constructing facade,” the staff mentioned.
Leftover wooden from the cedar log was used to manufacture inside parts within the library, together with a bench, show cabinets and the circulation desk.
One of many library’s standout options is a youngsters’s house modelled after actual tugboats within the La Conner harbour. The realm options porthole home windows and kid-sized studying nooks.
“We designed a 24-foot-long, customized tugboat within the youngsters’s space to honour La Conner’s maritime previous and to outline the house from the remainder of the open studying room,” the staff mentioned.
Different inside parts within the library embody signage in 4 languages – English, Spanish, Braille and Lushootseed. The latter is the written language of the Swinomish communityl
The constructing has a rooftop photo voltaic array, one among a number of sustainable parts that enabled the undertaking to obtain LEED Silver certification from the US Inexperienced Constructing Council.
Different library initiatives within the US embody the overhaul of a Nineteen Seventies, Brutalist-style library in Oregon by Hacker Architects and a Brooklyn library by WORKac that’s housed inside a former torpedo manufacturing facility.
The pictures is by Doug Scott.
Venture credit:
Consumer: La Conner Regional Library
Consumer companion: Swinomish Indian Tribal Group
Architect and inside designer: BuildingWork
Civil and structural engineer: KPFF
Mechanical engineer: The Greenbusch Group, Inc
Electrical engineer: TFWB Engineers
Envelope marketing consultant: RDH Constructing Science
Panorama architect: Karen Kiest Panorama Structure
Lighting designer: Blanca Lighting Design
LEED marketing consultant: ArchEcology
Specs: Utilized Constructing Info
Price estimator: Venture Supply Analysts
Normal contractor: Tiger Development
