Construction has just begun on Snøhetta’s Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in North Carolina, USA. The new project is designed to become a significant destination in Uptown Charlotte. Last week, the main library organized a commemoration to celebrate the beginning of the demolition phase on site in anticipation of the upcoming construction. It is set to open in the spring of 2026.
The Library of Charlotte Mecklenburg is positioned at the intersection of two main city arteries. Moreover, it is situated in the evolving North Tyron corridor and aims to be a turning point in Charlotte’s geographical and cultural evolution. The city of Charlotte was founded by the British in 1768, taking shape along the contours of a ridgeline, which served as a historical network of trade and exchange routes. Initially inhabited by natives, the area eventually grew into the present-day Tyron Street.
The design leverages the site’s historical topography, physically and metaphorically using the ridge. The scheme introduces the library as a new focal and exchange point for community and cultural interactions. The library shapes the street corner with an illuminated form that extends over the pedestrian sidewalk. This open engagement with the urban city symbolizes the public welcoming of the design.
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Snøhetta Announces Design for Library in The Bronx, USAThe 115,000-foot facility aims to enable the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library to utilize the space in a new way. The project encourages evolving beyond a conventional library and instead becoming a communal gathering space. The design embodies a technologically advanced approach to the building, reinterpreting the space and highlighting the importance of this function in the community’s daily life.
As libraries become more and more common design solutions to create authentic community spaces in dense cities, many designers have been rethinking the typical library format. OÜ Kolm Pluss Üks just won an international competition to design the Tartu Cultural Center, which will include the Tartu City Library. Heatherwick Studio revealed its first public library design in Maryland, United States in March. The building “will serve as a community center and was designed to reflect libraries' changing and complex role within cities. The program expands beyond book lending services, providing spaces for cultural events, collective learning, workshops, and lending of objects of use.” Finally, MVRDV has been selected to design a new library for Wuhan in China, set to be one of the largest libraries in the region.
