The new Laurel Branch Library in Laurel, Md., creates an environment that promotes learning, encourages social interaction and lifts the human spirit. Designed by Grimm + Parker Architects, Calverton, Md., the interior of the 31,000-square-foot library creates a series of spaces that convey an uplifting feeling, while maintaining a welcoming, comfortable, community ambiance.
Library embraces the present and becomes a beacon for the community
Designed to enhance the library experience through the use of space, the library features a replica of a paleontological dig site in the floor of the children’s area, as well as dinosaur seating, public art pieces by local artists, a café with vending marching, and study, meeting and conference rooms. Additionally, the library’s easy-to-follow layout reduces the need for signage throughout.
Keeping in mind the community is more immersed in technology, the library design enhances services offered by maximizing connections between interior space, landscape and the surrounding community with the intent of adding sensory excitement through views to the exterior, letting the user enjoy sunlight, experience color and texture, and, from the exterior, letting the library be a beacon of the community. Both the exterior and interior spaces emphasize the library’s institutional place within the community be the enhancement and preservation of the adjacent historic Emancipation Park.
The pedestrian-friendly building and site captures the history of the Laurel community with its deep African American roots. Incorporated into its design is textured stone, dynamic lines and bold forms, while the landscape showcases cherry trees, oak trees and drought-resistant plants.
Photo: Sam Kittner Photography
For the project, Summit Construction Inc., Frederick, Md., installed 11,735 square feet of Deland, Fla.-based Kingspan Insulated Panels Inc.’s 2-inch-thick BENCHMARK Designwall 2000 insulated metal panels (IMPs) in Champagne Gold for the canopies, reading pods and entrances, and 1,818 square feet of Kingspan’s 2 1/2-inch-thick BENCHMARK Designwall 2000R ribbed IMPs in Champagne Gold for the screenwall. The panels range in width from 11 1/8 inches to 49 1/2 inches, and were installed in both horizontal and vertical applications.
The architects designed a welcoming and environmentally friendly park site, as well as a healthy and high-performance building. The design creates a living demonstration lab of stormwater management, natural shade and local ecosystems. Prince George’s County wanted to celebrate the natural environment both in the sweeping and species-rich rain gardens. The dramatic walls of glass and large roof overhangs bring the outside in the library and fill the reading rooms with natural daylight.
The building also features low-angle photovoltaic panels on the south side. Additionally, the project features electric vehicle charging stations, carpool parking spots, permeable paving, bioretention planting beds, an Energy Star-compliant roof system, high-performance, double-glazed, Low-E windows, adding to an energy-efficient building envelope.