Central Library Renovation
Project Description
The Atlanta Fulton Central Library renovation elevates a 1980’s brutalist structure into a modern library for the 21st century. The building is LEED Gold certified and incorporates sustainable features that enhance building performance and promote human health.
Project Stats
Location
Atlanta, GA
Year of Completion
2021
Size
193,000 sq. ft.
Project Gallery
Design Features
The interior design prioritizes accessibility, flexibility and transparency, with multi-function collaboration spaces located throughout. A two-story atrium wraps the central staircase, promoting activation and connection between floors. Flexible furniture systems accommodate diverse modalities of studying and meeting, and central meeting rooms utilize glass partitions to foster transparency.
The existing façade lacked strategic window placement, contributing to a dark and unwelcoming interior. By doubling the number of windows, the renovation increases natural light throughout the building, changing the interior aesthetic to a bright and welcoming environment. The new windows maintain the existing rhythm of the brutalist concrete façade, designed by the late Marcel Breuer. By renovating instead of building entirely new, 95% of the existing building structure and envelope was reused.