Call for artists and join our Book Brigade
The Silt Branch Library is speeding toward completion and the Grand Opening is scheduled for 10am on October 6, 2012. The new library is located right next door to the existing library. The architect is Oz Architecture and the contractor is FCI, Inc. The building features an expandable meeting room to accommodate larger events (with a huge garage door!), as well as two study rooms, unique children's and teen spaces, and a plaza between the existing Silt Town Hall and the new library. The plaza will feature 28 concrete "books." Donors will have an opportunity to name their favorite title and author as part of the installation. We are planning a community Book Brigade to move the library from the old building to the new and we are looking for volunteers for September 14 and 15 to help with the move. Call the library at 876-5500 to sign up or get more information. We hope to see you there!
The new Carbondale Branch Library broke ground on August 14th and we are off and running. You may have noticed the street closures as RA Nelson is working on the street improvements this fall. Willis Pember of Willis Pember Architects of Aspen designed the new building and Humphries Polis Architecture is designing the library interiors. The new 13,000 square foot library is located at the corner of Sopris Avenue and Third Street and includes a “story quarry” for kids, a sculpture garden, and a 100 person meeting room that will double as a quiet reading area. The library will feature three study rooms, separate teen, children’s and adult areas as well as some innovative features such as a “You-media” type space for producing content for books, magazines, movies, music and more. This library is slated to open mid-summer 2013.
The Carbondale project is being designed with sustainability in mind. Although we will not be seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental (LEED) certification, we will be following the LEED checklist to ensure that we minimize the project’s impact. We will be recycling concrete from the old tennis courts into pavers for the sculpture garden, incorporating local materials into the interiors and have found funding (from the LEED savings) to go forward with a plan for at least 10kwh of solar. We are also seeking to engage local artists into the process and are offering a Call for Artists through CAFE for bike racks and after hours gates at this time. Service desk cladding and lighting will be released mid-September, with other features potentially being added later this fall.
The Glenwood Springs Branch Library site is working on foundation walls for the Colorado Mountain College parking structure under the building at the corner of Cooper Avenue and 8th Street. This building was designed by Humphries Polis Architecture with Willis Pember Architecture assisting as the local architect. The new library will be 14,000 square feet and feature a meeting room for 200, three study rooms, a conference room and expansive areas for children and adults. Teens will have a special area and local teens have participated in several focus groups to share their ideas about the new library. The building will have a second floor that will be shared with Colorado Mountain College for future expansion. There is also a 5000 square foot community plaza on the south end of the structure. We hope to be open by September 2013.
More information about our construction projects is available on our website at www.gcpld.org/construction. We welcome your questions and comments.