Lake Stevens Library
A civic library facade precedent by BuildingWork combining a fully glazed ground floor with a vertically slatted wood upper volume accented by bold green projecting bay windows.
- What we like about this project
- Asymmetrically placed, brightly colored protruding window boxes break up the uniform vertical wood siding.
Materials
- wood-slats
- glass
- painted-metal
- concrete
Visual identifiers
- vertical-wood-cladding
- floor-to-ceiling-glazing
- projecting-green-bays
- civic-facade
Style tags
- contemporary
- wood-architecture
- civic
Visual tags
- civic
- library
- wood-cladding
- transparent-ground-floor
- contemporary
- street-edge
- Geometry
- Two-story rectangular volume with a transparent ground floor and a solid upper block wrapped in vertical wood slats.
- Facade system
- Rain-screen vertical wood slat cladding on upper level over floor-to-ceiling structural glass storefront system on ground level.
- Structural guess
- Steel frame with floor-to-ceiling glazing below and lightweight framing above.
- Spatial scale
- Two-story civic scale relative to pedestrians, cars, and surrounding street trees.
- Lighting
- Bright diffused daylight with soft shadows, casting a clear urban context light across the street and facade.
- Atmosphere
- Welcoming and approachable community identity established through warm wood tones and transparent street-level connection.
- Environmental context
- Suburban street frontage with passing cars, cyclists, mature trees, and landscaping framing the building entrance.
- Spatial experience
- Approaching from the street, the transparent ground level opens views directly into the active library interior while the heavy upper wood volume hovers above.
- Composition rhythm
- Steady vertical rhythm of narrow wood slats interrupted by strategically placed projecting green window boxes.
- Style reading
- Contemporary civic wood architecture
- Program
- Public library and community space
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- wood-slats, glass, painted-metal, concrete
- Visual identifiers
- vertical-wood-cladding, floor-to-ceiling-glazing, projecting-green-bays, civic-facade
- Style tags
- contemporary, wood-architecture, civic
- Visual tags
- civic, library, wood-cladding, transparent-ground-floor, contemporary, street-edge
- Geometry
- Two-story rectangular volume with a transparent ground floor and a solid upper block wrapped in vertical wood slats.
- Facade system
- Rain-screen vertical wood slat cladding on upper level over floor-to-ceiling structural glass storefront system on ground level.
- Structural guess
- Steel frame with floor-to-ceiling glazing below and lightweight framing above.
- Spatial scale
- Two-story civic scale relative to pedestrians, cars, and surrounding street trees.
- Lighting
- Bright diffused daylight with soft shadows, casting a clear urban context light across the street and facade.
- Atmosphere
- Welcoming and approachable community identity established through warm wood tones and transparent street-level connection.
- Environmental context
- Suburban street frontage with passing cars, cyclists, mature trees, and landscaping framing the building entrance.
- Spatial experience
- Approaching from the street, the transparent ground level opens views directly into the active library interior while the heavy upper wood volume hovers above.
- Composition rhythm
- Steady vertical rhythm of narrow wood slats interrupted by strategically placed projecting green window boxes.
- Style reading
- Contemporary civic wood architecture
- Program
- Public library and community space
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture