Back in the Triangle area of North Carolina, I had the opportunity to again work with Little to photograph the modern Morrisville Community Library. The library is sited across from a flower-bedded traffic circle.
On the opposite side, accessible to parking is the library entry. A sense of transparency was integrated throughout the design, allowing sight lines deep into the library through the building’s picture-window frame bookends and views looking out.
Upon entry, visitors are greeted by a double-height space with seating areas, tables, and generous fenestration. A large bulkhead drops down to form a one-story space hovering over the circulation desk and some of the library stacks. The recessed olive panels seen in the background contains a barstool height counter and seating.
The circulation desk with self-check kiosks beyond the bulkhead.
A mother and her young son playfully enjoy the landscaped plaza in front of one of the picture-frame facades, with vertical art installation in the background.
Neighborhood locals can walk past the extruded brick patterns form shadows in coordination with the building elevation along the building’s street side. Window shades hover above the clerestory windows.
Pleasant light filters through the library’s east-facing windows. Artificial light installations frame the large room against the clerestory backdrop revealing blue skies and green foliage. Again, the vertical art sculpture stands in the background beyond the window frames.
Beyond the east window is the two-story great room containing most of the stacks and computer workstations. Windows above provide a wide indirect lighting source. Artificial lighting provides accent illumination and helps visually frame the space below.
The largest design gesture of the Morrisville library are certainly the outside-to-inside-back-to-outside relationship between the library programming and landscape outside through the bookended window frames. It was a major emphasis of both the design and photography.
Finally, traffic navigates the circle with illuminated library beyond. Though technically 2021, this marks the final blog of 2020. It’s been a crazy, yet another highly productive year. Thanks to everyone for your support and see you in the new year!
