Shaping Communities: Boulevard Park Library and the Architecture of Libraries

An open and bright entry welcomes the public at Boulevard Park Library. Photo: Lara Swimmer Photography.

“Bad libraries build collections, good libraries build services, great libraries build communities.”
R. David Lankes, Director of the University of South Carolina’s School of Library and Information Science

What value do libraries bring to their communities? In American cities, many spaces and services are privately-owned with controlled access and a cost to use them, public libraries are one of the few places that remain free and available to everyone. In this digital age with information at our fingertips libraries are essential. In addition to access to books, public libraries provide a wide range of services and support, including internet service and computer access, digital resources, meeting space, early literacy and language programs, after-school programs, senior services, and voter registration and ballot boxes. Along with other public services, libraries support their communities. This is especially true in neighborhoods with large populations of low-income residents, people of color, and recent immigrants.

The BuildingWork team values the central role libraries play in the life and health of their communities. Our work helps libraries evolve to meet the needs of their patrons and adapt to changes in technology. For each of our library projects, we create spaces tailored to its patrons and designed to highlight and embrace the unique features of the site.

The King County Library System’s Boulevard Park Library is one such library project by BuildingWork. The small public library was built in 1970. When BuildingWork started this renovation project, the existing library space was still in its original state. It felt claustrophobic and was full of hidden corners and hard-to-see areas. The entry lobby, restrooms, and staff areas were nearly non-functional. Our task was to renovate the library to meet contemporary needs of the library’s patrons and staff, without adding space and with minimal changes to the building’s exterior.

BuildingWork’s renovation of Boulevard Park Library transformed the library’s dark and cluttered interior into a bright, light, open space ready to serve its growing community for decades to come. BuildingWork Architect Kate Weiland notes, “We wanted to bring visual connection and openness throughout the space both to make patrons feel comfortable and secure and to support the staff in doing their jobs more effectively.”

When the doors of the 5,000 square foot King County Library System Boulevard Park Library opened in 1971, the space was a testament to what community collaboration could accomplish. BuildingWork’s full renovation of the library’s interior, paired with specific exterior modifications, readies the library for its next 50 years of service. Photos: BuildingWork and Lara Swimmer Photography.

It was exciting for the BuildingWork team to consider how to re-imagine the interior of the building. The library had great volume, a high-bay central space with clerestory windows, but almost no exterior view windows. It was dark and cramped and there wasn’t room for the library to fulfill its community’s needs.

BuildingWork began the renovation by stripping away the interior finishes and non-structural walls. We then wholly re-organized the public and the staff areas, decluttering the interior and carving out more space for people. Now the walls and ceilings are bright and light-filled, with new lighting fixtures that augment the natural light from the upper clerestory windows and the new exterior windows in the teen and children’s areas. We designed brightly colored accents and custom furniture that punctuate particular areas for teens, children, reading, public computer access, and study rooms.

A dedicated area for teens combines collections and custom furniture with plenty of power ports. Photo: Lara Swimmer Photography.

One of the most exciting changes was envisioning the teen zone as something new. Previously relegated to several clustered shelving units marked by a single neon sign, teens now have a distinct area within the library. The zone combines their print collection with specifically selected furniture, lighting, and plenty of power ports. Comfortable chairs, small tables, a cyber bar, and nearby study rooms provide places for independent and small and large groups to study, read, and gather. It creates a real space for teens to stay awhile.

As there aren’t many places for teens (like community centers or boys and girls clubs) within the Boulevard Park community, BuildingWork looks forward to this becoming a real hub for local teens.

Boulevard Park Libary’s central space provides access to high-speed internet and patron services. Photo: Lara Swimmer Photography.

As a community hub, libraries can help mitigate some of the realities of gentrification. In cities like Seattle where gentrification has caused significant increases to rent and cost of living, many people have been pushed out to the city’s periphery; to the unincorporated suburban areas that have even less access to services and support. Not only do these suburban areas lack services commonly found in the center of the city, but they also often lack basics like grocery stores, coffee shops, and high-speed internet infrastructure.

In these multi-cultural, multi-lingual communities like Boulevard Park, located just north of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the public library provides not only books but also public-use computers, high-speed internet wifi, public restrooms, children’s movie night, teen study groups, a safe place to sit or meet, and even a space for free meals served on weekends for families who are struggling.

The multiple services that the Boulevard Park Library provides its community was a great influence on the BuildingWork design process and is reflected in our design of an enlargeable meeting room. The meeting room’s custom glass sliding doors, “The Secret Reader Creates the World” created by Seattle-based artist Barbara Earl Thomas, allows for the walls to disappear and to accommodate larger audiences for the library’s specific programming needs.

Principal Matt Aalfs holds open the doors for Boulevard Park Library’s first patrons during the library’s Grand Reopening celebration on May 18. Photo: BuildingWork.

The reopening of Boulevard Park Library, a much-loved community resource, is an example of how small spaces can have big impacts. With a total footprint of only 5,000 square feet, BuildingWork’s strategic interventions, including opening the meeting room, removing outdated infrastructure, reprogramming the space, and prioritizing natural light, readies this library for the next 50 years. We provided the Boulevard Park Library with space to serve its neighborhood and the ability to adapt and change with the needs of its community.