Forty years after its original opening in 1980, Atlanta’s Central Library has reopened following a $50 million renovation project designed by Cooper Carry in association with Vines Architecture. The build team devised a plan to rehabilitate the eight-story building into a place that balances the original brutalist design with modernizing the space to better appeal to Atlanta’s next generation of library goers.
The team envisioned a design strategy to utilize technology; introduce additional windows; reallocate space; improve way finding; replace mechanical systems for greater comfort, efficiency, and sustainability; and activate the exterior plaza to create a more transparent, safe, accessible, and functional building from the outside in.
Other key considerations included creating more natural light, flexibility to support changing programs, and improved street-level engagement. The introduction of windows to existing recessed planes significantly improved daylight access, helping to create a brighter interior and a more welcoming presence.
A challenge of the library’s interior was that it was underutilized and difficult to navigate, leaving many of the original design signatures hiding in plain sight. The design team unearthed and put these elements on display, including a distinct sculptural staircase and waffle slab ceiling and skylights that occupy the center of the building by relocating the original central service elevator that was in the way. Opening up the core of the building had the effect of bringing in natural light to the atrium while serving as a smoke exhaust pathway, which was a necessary mechanical change to the building's life safety systems.
Visitors will discover the addition of comfortable gathering hubs that encourage library guests to move outside the confines of the traditional library on the previously underutilized fifth floor outdoor terrace. In the future, flex spaces like the terrace and the adjacent auditorium with telescoping seating and a large glass operable door could be used as an income-generating venue for events.
The library’s revamped exterior plaza will be activated with more lighting, video information displays, and spaces to meet and gather. The goal is to extend the library’s footprint into the urban fabric and draw outsiders in.
The design team worked with Fulton County Library System, in addition to design build contractors Winter-Johnson with Moody Nolan.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 115 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2023
Stantec, HDR, Page, HOK, and Arcadis North America top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
2023 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
A record 552 AEC firms submitted data for BD+C's 2023 Giants 400 Report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 175 Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, HKS, Perkins&Will, Corgan, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Standards | Jun 26, 2023
New Wi-Fi standard boosts indoor navigation, tracking accuracy in buildings
The recently released Wi-Fi standard, IEEE 802.11az enables more refined and accurate indoor location capabilities. As technology manufacturers incorporate the new standard in various devices, it will enable buildings, including malls, arenas, and stadiums, to provide new wayfinding and tracking features.
Libraries | Mar 26, 2023
An abandoned T.J. Maxx is transformed into a new public library in Cincinnati
What was once an abandoned T.J. Maxx store in a shopping center is now a vibrant, inviting public library. The Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library (CHPL) has transformed the ghost store into the new Deer Park Library, designed by GBBN.
Libraries | Feb 26, 2023
A $17 million public library in California replaces one that was damaged in a 2010 earthquake
California’s El Centro community, about two hours east of San Diego, recently opened a new $17 million public library. With design by Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects and engineering services by Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering, the 19,811-sf building replaces the previous library, which was built in the early 1900s, damaged by a 7.2 earthquake that struck Baja California in 2010, and demolished in 2016.
Giants 400 | Feb 9, 2023
New Giants 400 download: Get the complete at-a-glance 2022 Giants 400 rankings in Excel
See how your architecture, engineering, or construction firm stacks up against the nation's AEC Giants. For more than 45 years, the editors of Building Design+Construction have surveyed the largest AEC firms in the U.S./Canada to create the annual Giants 400 report. This year, a record 519 firms participated in the Giants 400 report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023
2022 Reconstruction Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. building reconstruction and renovation sector
Gensler, Stantec, IPS, Alfa Tech, STO Building Group, and Turner Construction top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest reconstruction sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 1, 2023
2022 Cultural Facilities Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. cultural facilities sector
Populous, DLR Group, KPFF, Arup, and Turner Construction head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest cultural facilities sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report. Building types include museums, public libraries, performing arts centers, and concert venues.
Libraries | Jan 13, 2023
One of the world’s largest new libraries opens in Shanghai
Designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, Shanghai Library East covers more than 1.2 million sf, 80% of it dedicated to community activity.