NEW WALKER LIBRARY
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Located at the corner of Hennepin and Lagoon Avenue and adjacent to the Midtown Greenway bike trail, the new library is positioned at a nexus of multimodal transportation networks. The front façade becomes a porch and living room for the street, people on the exterior gravitate to the interior to be part of this hub of neighborhood activity. Built on the foundations of its previous structure, the new stainless steel and glass-clad building was designed as a simple figural mass consistent with the iconography of civic buildings with a generous front entry, including shaded seating elevated along the street. The form itself echoes the typical low-rise facades along Hennepin Avenue with one or two-story masses hovering over extensive street-level glass.
The New Walker Library serves a demographically diverse, arts-oriented neighborhood that is a vital gateway community. While the library’s fundamental program is still centered on a collection of books, its mission has broadened to serve the neighborhood as a meeting place, service center, and social hub for the community. On the west side of the building, parallel to the reading room, service and support spaces are contained in the lower volume oriented toward the service drive and parking entry. A raised access floor allows flexibility while elevating the reading areas and people seated to overlook the busy street corner.
Awards:
American Institute of Architects/American Library Association Honor Award, 2016
American Institute of Architects Minnesota Honor Award; New Walker Library, 2013