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Upper Riccarton Community and School Library
Douglass-Truth Branch of The Seattle Public Library
Hercules Public Library
Minneapolis Central Library
New York Public Library - Mulberry Street Branch
Nishimachi International School, Yashiro Media Center
San Mateo Public Library
Shunde Library
Whitby Public Library & Civic Square
Idea Store WhitechapelDouglass-Truth Branch of The Seattle Public Library
A sleek metal-clad addition complements a branch library's historic main building.
Douglass-Truth Branch Library has served a diverse community in Seattle’s Central area for over 80 years. Today, it has an annual audience of nearly 300,000 patrons. An expansion designed by Schacht Aslani Architects meets the needs of the library’s current users and complements the character of its historic architecture.
Team
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The bulk of the addition is located below grade to the east side of the historic structure. The green space to the west of the library, at the corner of 23rd and Yesler, and views of the library’s most prominent facades were preserved. The historic main entry continues to provide access to the expanded library. Inside, the integrity of the original building, with its grand reading room, classical detailing and oak bookcases, was maintained.
A curving grand stair takes patrons from the historic building down to the adult reading room in the addition. The city’s African American collection is housed in this new space. The new reading room is covered by a light monitor that brings generous amounts of daylight into the new structure and frames views looking back to the historic building. A new meeting room, at the same level as the historic building, has windows that look out over the new reading room and a separate exterior entry for after hours use.
The sloped roof of the light monitor covers both the meeting room and the lower level reading areas, tying together the spaces inside the addition. This form is separated from the historic building by a curved glass connector, which contains the grand stair. The exterior of the addition facing the historic library is glazed, reflecting the color and details of the landmark building by day and allowing light inside the addition to spill out at night, creating an inviting beacon for passersby.
Formal name of building: Douglass-Truth Branch of The Seattle Public Library
Location: 2300 E. Yesler Way/Seattle, WA
Completion Date: October 2006
Gross square footage: 16,493 sq.ft.
Total project cost: $5.1 million
Owner:
The Seattle Public Library
Capital Projects Office
800 Pike Street
Seattle, WA 98101
www.spl.org
Architect:
Schacht Aslani Architects
506 Second Avenue, Suite 700
Seattle, WA 98104
Ph: (206) 443-3448
Fax: (206) 443-3471
www.saarch.com
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