Project Description
FROM THE AIA:
The library, located in the heart of Santa Monica’s Virginia Avenue Park, leverages its setting to encourage its use as both an educational resource and social gathering spot.
The nearly 9,000-square-foot library preserves the site’s existing green space and takes advantage of previously underused space to further activate the park’s event plaza. Sustainable features can be found throughout the LEED Platinum certified library, chief among them daylight harvesting and passive shading. Skylights and the library’s carved ceiling help maximize light and define the building’s architectural identity. Deep overhangs and canopies protect glass from direct sun and eliminate the need for interior shades. Through its rainwater harvesting system, the library collects water from its roof and the roof of an adjacent building for storage in a 12,000-gallon cistern, where it is filtered and used to flush the library’s toilets. In the first six months of operation, the library increased its membership by more than 1,200 people and over 100,000 materials were checked out.