Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS, AS SUBMITTED TO AIA ALASKA:
The Wasilla Public Library is located on a wooded site near the heart of the city of Wasilla, Alaska, a burgeoning community 60 miles north of Anchorage. As one of the few remaining sites of this character in the core area, it inspired a concerted effort to create a “library in the woods.” This necessitated increased setbacks from busy streets, distributed parking, and a healthy allotment of planting. An adjacent middle school is connected to the library site via a new trail to augment the school’s resources.
The central organizing principle of the plan is the radial stack arrangement affording unobstructed visibility from the circulation desk. Reading areas and study rooms occupy the perimeter for access to daylight and views. This permitted selective window placement and a balance of light and thermal efficiency. The multipurpose room may be accessed after hours for use by the wider community.
The project team’s mission was to create a “hundred year” building. To that end, materials and systems were selected for their sustainable qualities and minimal need for maintenance. A unitized curtain wall system was chosen to insure a high-performance thermal envelope and factory-quality construction, and to facilitate winter construction. The majority of the exterior is clad in high-density cement panels for long-term durability. Rooftop solar tubes augment daylight in the interior stack areas.
The new Wasilla Library replaces the previous overtaxed library with three times the previous collection capacity. This has resulted in a 400% increase in library visitations, assuring its intended purpose as a cherished community resource.