Birchard Public Library Addition and Renovations
Type of Construction
CMaR
Square Footage
33,916
Construction Cost
$6,511,916
Birchard Public Library consists of a full renovation to the existing building as well as a 9,000 sf addition. The original Birchard Public Library was constructed in 1878 on the former site of Fort Stephenson, a former fort and battleground from the War of 1812. By the 1980’s, the collection size had significantly outgrown the building size, and the library was significantly expanded with 2 additional wings. In 2018, collection size had once again outgrown the capacity of the building and modern needs and programs of the library had evolved. Additionally, there was a shortage of parking and no real entrance sequence as the existing entrance was hidden in a corner of the building above a ramp to the garage. With coordination from the City of Fremont, the library was able to secure land adjacent to the building to once again add on to the building and increase parking size.
The design of the renovation and addition of Birchard Public Library revolved around modernizing the entire structure while also planning for the future to mitigate the need to expand or significantly modify the building again. In addition, it was critical that collection size was not reduced in any way, and that the design focused on the future expansion of the collection size. The first floor of the addition consists of a new entrance to better define the entrance sequence and circulation from the site, new staff offices and workrooms, and restroom and janitorial facilities. The second floor of the addition includes a new children’s library and staff areas as well as new teen spaces. When considering the programing of the building, the intent was to include all stacks and public library space on one floor. Due to the needs of the library, it was decided to move all library stacks and public areas to the second floor to minimize the need to transverse levels to browse or use library facilities. The design team chose to create a two-story space at the stair to draw the public up from the new entrance to the library space. Renovated areas on the first floor were then converted to technology and meeting spaces meant to educate and inspire patrons. These spaces include technology classrooms, a maker space, and recording studio.
The existing building presented a unique design challenge of having existing ceiling heights on the first floor of below 8’-0”. The first floor is at the same finish floor of the basement of the 1800’s era portion of the building. In the 1980’s additions, the building entrance was moved to this level, but public space on this floor was minimized due to the ceiling height issue. With this renovation, it was critical to reclaim as much of that space as possible. This was done through the use of various ceiling planes, materials, and angular patterns to stretch the space making it feel as if the space was volumetrically larger.
