Springfield Public Libraries

The City and  Greene County Library District needed a new central facility in a more accessible location. The solution developed around the adaptive reuse of an 83,000 square foot former home improvement center, known for its yellow pyramid roof forms. The vision called for a new civic landmark and identity, appropriate for a major four-lane thoroughfare, and for a growing community looking forward to a new century, yet proud of its past.

The Library Center design incorporates many architectural styles and elements, symbolizing the diverse services, resources and people that a 21st century Library serves. Each department has its own architectural identity, and yet the design integrates all these components into a comfortable whole. With its own unique sense of place, it attracts over 11,000 patrons each month.

Ideas from coffee shops, bookstores, shopping malls, children’s museums and web conscious media were incorporated to encourage and increase usage and awareness. Elements from traditional, turn-of-the-century libraries were incorporated to recall those values and heritage.