Library Design

Young & Ayata Revamp a Library’s Study Room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:01:45 -0400

The Met’s Nolen Study Room, located within the Watson Library, repurposes wood shelving as CNC-milled wall paneling.

The Obama Presidential Center Opens on Chicago’s South Side

jim@jamesgauer.com (James Gauer) — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 09:53:09 -0400

The critically received project by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien improves a large section of Jackson Park and harks back to an era of heroic form-making.

SO–IL Envisions a Cleveland Public Library as an Open Civic Platform

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 08:12:40 -0400

Occupying the first two floors of a new residential tower, the relocated Martin Luther King, Jr. branch is anchored by a round concrete stage for lectures, screenings, and the occasional wrestling match.

Underfoot Innovation: Raised Access Flooring Elevates Redmond Public Library’s Mass Timber Design

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Completed in 2024, the new Redmond Library in Deschutes County, Oregon, embodies a forward-looking vision for community architecture — one where mass timber and raised access flooring combine to create a space that is sustainable, adaptable, and deeply connected to its region.

From the RECORD Archives: ‘Rakow Research Library, Corning, New York’

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 08:36:48 -0400

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and structural engineer Dewhurst MacFarlane partnered for this renovation at the Corning Museum of Glass, which was featured in the November 2001 issue.

SANAA Creates a Cluster of Volumes Housing a Museum and Library to Anchor a New District in Taichung

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

A new cultural complex in Taiwan's second-largest city comprises an array of eight boxy, steel-framed volumes wrapped in aluminum mesh.

Jakob + MacFarlane Dusts Off a 1980s Library in France

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:06:00 -0500

The Paris-based firm ‘prunes’ a failing building to meet 21st century needs.

Centerbrook Architects’ New Canaan Library Ushers a Civic Anchor Into the 21st Century

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 00:03:01 -0400

Located in the heart of the Connecticut town, the 42,700-square-foot building foregrounds community, not quiet.

Snøhetta’s Vibrant Library for a Queens Neighborhood Embraces Artistic Flair

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 00:06:59 -0400

Featuring an abstract, calligraphic design that snakes across a glass facade, the two-story structure in Far Rockaway seeks to honor the rapidly changing neighborhood.

KieranTimberlake Transforms D.C.'s Folger Shakespeare Library

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 00:08:00 -0400

A nearly century-old library steps up its role as a cultural institution by expanding below grade and becoming accessible to all.

An Adroit Revamp by Kwong Von Glinow Unifies a Chicago Art School's Library

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:02:00 -0400

Strategic interventions, such as a sculptural steel stair and double-height corridor, transform the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's disjointed Flaxman Library into a cohesive learning hub.

Mecanoo and Beyer Blinder Belle Update the New York Public Library's Beaux-Arts Main Branch

Lentzl@bnpmedia.com (Linda C. Lentz) — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 00:04:00 -0500

A series of surgical interventions advances a treasured 1911 landmark for new generations.

‘Reading Room’ Checks Out 24 Architecturally Significant Libraries in the West and Beyond

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 08:21:26 -0500

Buildings in Alaska, Southern California, and the Seattle area are among the featured projects in a new book showcasing singular regional libraries.

Office KGDVS uses Simple Geometry to Accommodate the Growing Needs of a Library in Belgium

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0500

A deceptively simple project manages to fit soaring volumes and a generous courtyard on a tight budget.

Perkins&Will Breathes New Life Into a Brutalist Campus Landmark

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 00:04:00 -0400

The firm's Toronto studio completes the first phase of the revitalization of Weldon Library at the University of Western Ontario.

LEVENBETTS Brings Daylight and High Design into a Public Library in Brooklyn

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 08:58:33 -0400

The once gloomy East Flatbush Library is resurrected as a welcoming, light-filled community hub.

Beaudouin Architectes and Ivry Serres Foster Community with the Charles Nègre Cultural Center in France

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:04:00 -0500

The cultural center and winner of l'Équerre d'argent—France’s most esteemed architecture award—gets up close and personal with its neighbors in a dense historic town in the south of France.

Dominique Coulon & Associés's L'Animu Media Library Touches the Land Gently

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 07:00:00 -0400

Located in the city of Porto-Vecchio, this scalloped cultural center circumvents existing cork oaks olive trees and granite boulders.

Mecanoo and OTJ Architects Transform a Mies van der Rohe Library in Washington, D.C.

Fri, 02 Sep 2022 00:04:00 -0400

Preserving the best of Mies, the collaborating Dutch and American firms have revived this '70s masterpiece for 21^st century users.

Adams Street Branch Library by NADAAA

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 -0500

The firm's Boston branch library draws on its surrounding context and historic precedents.

Winter Park Library and Events Center by Adjaye Associates

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Adjaye Associates designs a community complex in Winter Park, Florida anchored by a library.

MIT Hayden Memorial Library by Kennedy & Violich Architecture

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 00:00:00 -0500

KVA founding principal Sheila Kennedy is among the featured speakers at the June 20th Boston edition of Record on the Road.

Mecanoo Revamps New York City's Midtown Library

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 16:00:00 -0400

Mecanoo’s revamped library in the midst of Manhattan elevates the joy of reading.

Phoenix Central Library Receives AIA’s 25-Year Award

Mon, 31 May 2021 00:00:00 -0400

Since it opened in 1995, Bruder has been able to bring the building into the 21^st century without compromising his architectural vision, of which flexibility was a key part.

Mecanoo Respectfully Revises Mies van der Rohe’s MLK Library

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 14:02:00 -0400

Rethinking the original Modernist design brings an aging D.C. icon into the present with an eye toward the future.

Billie Jean King Main Library by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Mon, 02 Mar 2020 00:00:00 -0500

A very old material is getting renewed architectural respect.

Hunters Point Library by Steven Holl Architects Opens in New York

Tue, 24 Sep 2019 12:00:00 -0400

The $40-million project opened today on a waterfront site in the borough of Queens.

Maya Somaiya Library by SP+A

Mon, 07 Jan 2019 08:00:00 -0500

A vaulted brick library in rural India becomes a public school's new campus hub.

Central Library by Snøhetta and DIALOG

goncharj@bnpmedia.com (Joann Gonchar, FAIA) — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 08:00:00 -0500

An inventive structure on a challenging urban site in Canada aims to connect one side of the city to the other.

Qatar National Library by OMA

Wed, 11 Apr 2018 09:00:00 -0400

An otherworldly building, as surprising on the inside as it is on the outside, emerges in Qatar's desert.