An expansion of Calgary’s Central Library designed by Norwegian architect Snøhetta and Dialog of Canada is open for business.
Designed to LEED Gold standards, the library will contain 30 meeting spaces, a 350-seat performance hall, a café and an outdoor gathering and seating space. Altogether, the extension will add 22,230 sq m of space to the library, increasing its area by about two thirds.
The team designed the building so all of its sides can function as its "front" of the building. "This visual vocabulary continues inside, expressed in new visual identity and wayfinding signage in the building, unifying the library’s goals of inclusivity," Snøhetta says.
It adds that the development is Calgary’s "largest public investment since the 1988 Olympics" and it is "one of the largest library systems in North America, where more than half of its residents are active cardholders".
Snøhetta and Dialog won the contract in 2013, and worked with Colliers as project manager and Stuart Olson as construction manager.
Image courtesy of Snøhetta
