Redmond Public Library

As society changes, our libraries do too. Gone are the days when libraries existed solely to supply books and house study groups. Today, libraries represent the support fabric of our communities, providing a vital piece of social infrastructure that empowers and strengthens all who use it. 

In this once-in-a-generation move, the communities within Deschutes are supporting a bond measure that will enable the Deschutes Public Library to expand its services, re-envisioning the Library’s potential as a resource to this quickly growing County.
 
In an effort to be as efficient as possible, the County selected a single team to revamp its whole system at once, ensuring that all of the libraries revolutionize their operations synchronously in three-to-four years. Together with local partner Steele Associates Architects, Miller Hull is modernizing the County’s seven libraries, renovating several, constructing one, and reconstructing another. 
 
Of these libraries is the new Redmond Public Library whose site is located downtown amongst a number of historic brick-cladded buildings, making its context is denser and more urban than the other libraries in the county. The new design will double the size of the current building and will be situated towards the front of the lot along Deschutes Avenue, providing a large covered front porch that allows library programs to spill out and interact with pedestrians walking by in Centennial Park and beyond. On the East side, a new drive-up service window will enable patrons to pick up and drop off their library materials quickly.

A new kind of library paired with a new level of sustainability, the interior environment of the building will evoke beauty and warmth with exposed regionally-sourced mass timber that reflects the traditional heavy timber used in the region. During the production stages for this project (A1-A3), the metal, concrete, and insulation consume the most carbon (53%, 21%, 11% respectively), while the timber will sequester 46% of that carbon. Additionally, acoustic dowel laminated timber (DLT) will provide structural flooring which, unlike other flooring, does not require the typical glue that impacts indoor air quality. Slots cut into the DLT and acoustic fabric inserted inside will allow about 80% of the DLT to remain exposed without requiring drop ceilings for acoustic absorption. Glulam columns and beams will also be found throughout the building, including 65-foot glulam and steel cable trusses supporting the roof that will create large open and collaborative spaces.

In an era when connection is more important than ever – both digital and physical – the importance of a community hub that dynamically engages its residents cannot be overstated. In these new and improved libraries, community members will congregate in large meeting rooms that can expand and contract depending on the size. County-wide events will take place. Youth programs will flourish. 
 
Through more contextual spaces, advanced technology, and more opportunities for different types of programming, Deschutes County will unite its citizenry, one library at a time.