Completed 2025
29,500 square feet
Renovation | New Construction

LEED v4 Gold Certified

This renovated and expanded three story library on a sloping site in the civic heart of the City of Gloucester re-imagines the existing library, currently distributed across three connected buildings dating from 1764, 1913, and 1976 respectively, which are unable to accommodate the varied needs of a contemporary library. This project centralizes the library into a single expanded building in the 1976 wing with an expansion to the rear, while preserving and repurposing the historic 1764 Saunders House for other community uses that complement the library. The new building is transformed into a vibrant hub of community life providing a wide range of flexible program, meeting, co-working, multi-media, creation, and study spaces.

The proposed building connects public entrances on two levels (lower level parking lot entrance and main entrance at the second level) by way of new central stair which links the two entrances and solves the wayfinding issues that plagued the existing building. The lower level accommodates community program space, group study spaces, and creation spaces with off-hours accessibility. The adult collections—made universally accessible from the street by way of a reconfigured main entrance—are located on the second floor with a double-height reading room overlooking City Hall. Children and teens are located on the upper level. Contemporary in design but sensitive to the original 1976 building, the building complements and honors Gloucester’s historic surrounding architecture. The building was designed to be energy efficient with environmentally friendly heating and cooling systems.