King County Library System l Sammamish, Washington | Architect: Perkins + Will

Community Vitality Whimsy meets grandeur in the new Sammamish Library, with its plaza locale offering access to outdoor amenities and indoor wonders. Eliminating columns allows for future change in addition to expansive sight lines through the open plan. Colored signs and concrete flooring lead to a variety of delightful spaces. Photos by Benjamin Benschneider

6 | The Heart of a New Downtown

The New Icons The Ten New Landmark Libraries Popular Creek Public Library Palo Verde Library/ Maryvale Community Center Cesar Chavez Branch Library Hamilton Mill Branch Library Durango Public Library Sammamish Library Appaloosa Branch Library Agave Library Roseville Library Anythink Wright Farms Ten More That Will Inspire Criteria and Judges

It’s rare to be able to design a downtown from the ground up. Sammamish, WA, a growing suburban community outside Seattle, did just that with its Civic Plaza. The library, a key part of the town’s vision, has been built as a “bookend” to this outdoor plaza. It’s right near city hall, a network of bike and pedestrian paths, a wetlands preserve, several schools and religious facilities, and venues for major happenings like the farmer’s market and outdoor concerts. As a result, the library is place making, a building block of community vitality.

What makes Sammamish Library so distinctive is its strong connection to its stunning natural surroundings. Walls of glass frame mountain or wetland views, while ample daylighting strategies gather sunlight, a treasured Northwest resource.

Soaking up the sun Just walking into the warm and wood-clad entry, visitors know they are somewhere special. A distinctive slot window lets kids follow returned books on their conveyor belt journey back into the library. Cleverly designed displays for books and other materials offer welcome pause. Then the main room delivers the big “wow” with its open plan and long views beyond. It’s a space soaked in daylight through a series of skylights and a surround of clerestory windows.

Sammamish helps define the new class of “flexible” libraries. Maximized spans and fewer columns ensure easy changes for the future. Sporting scaled-down and adjustable circulation and reference points, it’s not, however, one of the new one-desk libraries, though reliance on RFID, self-checkout, and an automated materials handling system relieves staff workload.

Wayfinding is enabled by large brightly colored signs, as well as a color-coding system that links color, font, and material type. Polished concrete floors form pathways to the functional areas.

From the whimsical arrangement of LED lights in the children’s area that resemble a constellation of stars to the views of the Olympic Peninsula to cyberbars perched along the library’s full-height glass walls overlooking the plaza, delight comes from the variety of spaces that offer different materials, scale, finishes, and light source.

Here the meeting room was placed in the heart of the library rather than on the periphery near the front door. This erased the problem of a dark and uninviting entry. Also, integrated in this way, the space can be used for activities like quiet study and story times when meetings are not scheduled.

Green choices, big and small The site presented serious runoff issues, but storm water was effectively reduced by a three-pronged solution: an elaborate rain garden system rings the building and site, a green roof is planted with sedums, and permeable concrete paving allows the water to seep in rather than flow away. Another key was to locate the parking under the building, reducing the total footprint.

Other green features include a geothermal HVAC system that saves a lot of energy; radiant heating for warmth and temperature stability; durable and long-lasting materials; an exposed steel structure; and the use of reclaimed native elm, ash, and maple for countertops and rapidly renewable bamboo for stack tops and end panels. Like other recent green libraries, operable windows make for happy occupants.

These choices, big and small, ensure that Sammamish Library is a “very fine structure [and has] incredible presence,” as one of the judges noted. Residents will, no doubt, reap long-term benefits like improved livability and sustainability from the city’s decision to make the library the centerpiece for the town’s core.