Tidewater Library

Vision

After ten years of planning, two of Virginia’s most prominent public institutions – one of its largest community colleges and most populous city – have brought into fruition the state’s first large-scale joint-use library. The new joint-use library successfully supports the long-term strategic partnership by reconciling the unique mission of each institution into a shared vision of a truly integrated library, where any patron, whether college student, faculty member, or citizen of any age would encounter seamless, quality library services that meet their specific demands.

Key to the design concept is the library’s connection between the organic forms of nature and the vibrancy of a village. The building’s design responds to its site, which bears unique hallmarks of its agrarian past – linear drainage ditches that left a system of hedgerows. The intent is to both preserve and call attention to the land’s attractive natural qualities by integrating the building massing with hedgerows. The building mimics the hedgerow figuration with linear bands that run through the space and maximize the quiet areas of shadow and ambient light created by the hedgerows. Between the hedgerows, glass “crystals” extend outward in an alternating pattern to form a stepped façade that allows north light in and creates contemplative outdoor study gardens, blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor spaces.

Project Meta

Client

Tidewater Community College & City of Virginia Beach

Completion

2013

Size

125,000 SF

LEED Rating

Gold

Markets

Library; Design-Build

Project Types

Civic, Higher Education

Services

Architecture, Sustainability

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