Heatherwick Studio has revealed their first public library design, planned for Howard County Libraries in Maryland, United States. The building will serve as a community center and was designed to reflect the changing and complex role of libraries within cities. The program expands beyond book lending services, providing spaces for cultural events, collective learning, workshops and lending of objects of use. Construction is expected to begin in 2024, and the library is scheduled to open to the public in 2027.
The design of the building is inspired by the idea of understanding “cities as gardens for growing people”, the vision of James Rouse, the founder of the planned community which will welcome the new library. In line with this concept, Heatherwick has proposed a structure that hopes to become the neighborhood center for growing and learning through the facilities it offers and its location. Set on the city’s main promenade, it offers panoramic views of Lake Kittamaqundi. The shape of the building emerges softly from the lakeside landscape, providing opportunities for visitors to access the sloped planted roofs and explore its architecture.
The library is designed to accommodate a large variety of educational and cultural programs to cater to the needs of its diverse community. Its five stories provide spaces for working, play and learning areas. The teaching kitchen, café, maker’s laboratory are all valuable additions to the program of the library, further encouraging events and gatherings centered around the community. Additionally, a large-scale amphitheater will enable the local community to organize events and initiatives ranging from conferences and workshops to cultural and artistic performances.
The exterior of the library continues to offer ample spaces for learning and exploration. Interconnected planted staircases across the façade allow visitors to reach the staggered terraces, planted with native plant species. This design features creates a direct connection between the building and the surrounding public park and lakefront, thus contributing to the library’s integral part of the community’s life.
Columbia has always been driven by a socially radical vision. The legacy inspired us to evolve the traditional library beyond books and into a new type of community center for broader learning and social exchange. A walkable, planter building that emerges from the lakeside landscape will house an amphitheater for events, play areas and light-filled rooms designed for working and learning anything from cooking to IT. This will be the community center everyone in Howard County deserves. – Stuart Wood, partner and Group Leader at the studio
Recently Heatherwick Studio has revealed plans to transform an old desalinization plant into the centerpiece of a new cultural district on the waterfront of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The internationally renown office has also been commissioned to redesign the Harley-Davidson Campus and community park in Milwaukee, US. The studio has also designed the Toranomon-Azabudai in Tokyo, Japan, which has been included in ArchDaily’s list of most anticipated buildings expected to open to the public in 2023.
