Beyond the city’s goal of densifying the area, “there was an opportunity to completely rethink what a library is,” says Jing Liu, founder along with Florian Idenburg of SO–IL. As archives have become more digital, libraries today no longer require large bookstacks. Some branches have even reported that their digital-media lending has recently surpassed physical loans. In response, “the library is becoming more of a civic and cultural center rather than just somewhere you go for books,” adds Liu. Thus the idea of the table—a place for work and community—and not the bookshelf became the programmatic core of the library.

A 65-foot-diameter concrete platform occupies the center of the library. Desks, benches, steps, and a teen breakout zone, all milled from cross-laminated timber (CLT), ring the platform. Together, the multifunctional stage/assembly area and the wood built-ins around it compose the conceptual “table.” The platform, which conceals ventilation ducts, can host lectures, movie screenings, and even wrestling matches and dance parties. Acoustic curtains—some of which are composed of multiple layers of cotton and PVC film—on a track above the “table” allow for flexibility while mitigating sound that would otherwise reverberate in the open 23,000-square-foot, double-height space. Overhead is a 25-foot-diameter skylight, diffused by a diaphanous stretched-polymer screen. (The apartments are in a U-shape configuration that allows for the skylight.)

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Milled-CLT built-ins wrap the central platform (1 & 2). Photos © Iwan Baan

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While the architects are known for their cultural buildings, this is their first library. “We know how to design public institutions,” says Liu, “but with this experience, we realized that the constituency of a library is very different and much broader than a museum’s.” Cleveland Public Library, whose moniker is “The People’s University,” aims to be a space for everyone in the community, from young children to retirees, those who don’t have access to technology at home or do not have homes. “Everyone” also means a lot of rambunctious high schoolers. “We have teenagers who come every afternoon, and they drink Gatorade and eat pizza. They might throw the pizza. I don’t know why, but they will,” Liu jokes. The design had to stand up to whatever is thrown at it—literally.

The walls on the ground floor are lined with an aluminum mesh finish that, in addition to being durable and easy to clean, helps absorb sound. The undersides of the mezzanine and catwalk on the second level are finished in a sound-absorbent, fire-resistant foam sealed in a coating that can be scrubbed if a slice of pizza makes it up that high. The railing around the mezzanine includes a deep CLT ledge, which can be used as a workstation or as a place to display books. The ledge is raked so that no stray Gatorade bottles can roll or spill over the edge. The second story also includes rentable meeting rooms and a technology learning center. It is designed to allow for secure access for community events after the library has closed and the librarians have left.

Acoustic curtains ring the platform, and a milled-CLT ledge lining the mezzanine provides a work or display surface. Photo © Iwan Baan

The new branch is a departure from the traditional idea of the library. Dark, narrow rows of bookshelves for quiet, intimate perusal and personal discovery are replaced with a light-filled, open, and flexible space that aims to bring people together, provide services, and foster self-expression. Or, as Liu concisely puts it, “This is the opposite of shush.” SO–IL’s design invokes King’s philosophy, both through the concept of the “table of brotherhood” and in the details. “Dream” and “peace,” among other invocations of King’s ideas, are etched into the library’s concrete columns, literally building his words into the civic pillars of the community.

Words are etched into the library’s concrete columns. Photo © Iwan Baan