It's a Go!

A new library for Carbondale won approval from the Carbondale Town Council in April. Willis Pember Architects is designing the new library and Humphries Polis Architecture is designing the library interiors. The new library at the corner of Sopris Avenue and Third Street and will include a new 13,000 square foot library, a “story quarry” for kids, a sculpture garden, and a 100 person meeting room that will double as a quiet reading area. The project is slated to break ground in July 2012. 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 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 evaluating the use of a solar array on the roof. We are also seeking to engage local artists into the process and will be offering a Call for Artists later this summer for such features as bike racks, gates, pillars, and furnishings.

The Silt Branch Library broke ground March 9, 2012 and will open on October 6, 2012. It 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 will be looking for volunteers in mid-September to help with the move.

The Glenwood Springs Branch Library broke ground on May 8th and there is now a big hole at the corner of Cooper Avenue and 8th Street. The 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.