To maintain a popular branch at the Vancouver Mall, the Fort Vancouver Regional Library had to provide twice the service in half of the area. SHKS was chosen by the Fort Vancouver Regional Library System to work with library patrons and staff to re-imagine and reinvent the library. Taking advantage of a highly visible retail location, the Library Connection welcomes new library patrons of all ages, particularly teens.
Comfortable reading spaces, public computers, books, and other library amenities are visible through a frameless glass storefront, supported on round glulam columns. Automated book handling equipment dramatically reduces staff work area requirements and repetitive tasks, freeing librarians and library space to serve patrons better. Library amenities are intuitively organized for self-help, empowering new and lifelong users.
A lower ceiling and wood storage wall define a flexible program area for readings, presentations, teen, and children’s programs. Movable shelving allows this space to expand into the adjacent children’s area. Fixtures, partitions shelving, and furnishings are designed for reconfiguration and future adaptation and reuse.
Public space for gathering, reading, and learning anchors the library plan in the center. Collections, computers, and other resources enclose this modestly scaled civic space, inverting conventional retail planning principles.
Books are celebrated in a continuous shelving display, which wraps the storefront's social area and connects to a quieter reading area at the back. Ramps provide universal access to a raised platform and offer an elevated prospect for browsers and readers.
