With increased visitor volume and robust children’s programming, Herrick District Library’s North Branch needed to add additional space to its existing 5,000-sf building. A complete renovation to the existing building, along with a 5,500-sf addition, will serve as a new community focused facility.
Libraries have continued to evolve and the 20-year old branch needed considerable updating to provide a fresh look and focus on flexibility for programming for people of all ages. While only increasing the overall collection by 10%, the addition of space allows for children’s programs, such as activity areas, reading nooks, and creative play built-ins. Study rooms of various sizes accommodate tutoring and small groups. A new community room for 100 people with a Skyfold partition system provides the flexibility to be used as children’s programming space as its primary use or quickly converted to a separate meeting space as the need arises. Other updates include a new entry location and associated plaza, quiet zone adult reading area with fireplace, and high ceiling glass atrium space connector between new and existing buildings incorporating the existing building’s split-faced limestone walls as an interior finish. A complete redesign of the site improves vehicular traffic flow and enlarges the parking lot.
Fishbeck’s team assisted the library in determining the renovation scope for the existing facility and size of the addition through validation of the proposed program and needs study.
Fishbeck provided architecture, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, structural, interior design, civil engineering, and project estimating services.
