Proposed Green Valley Ranch Branch Library

Overview

On November 6, 2007, Denver voters passed 9 ballot initiatives aimed at maintaining the City's critical infrastructure now and into the future. Issue 1C included funding to design and construct a new branch library in the Green Valley Ranch neighborhood.

The recent growth in Denver's residential and business communities has created gaps in Denver Public Library's ability to serve all the people of Denver. Because of the location of Green Valley Ranch (approximately eight miles south of DIA) it is difficult for residents to access the nearest branch, the Montbello Branch Library, located six miles from the Green Valley Ranch town center. Accordingly, the City of Denver and the Denver Public Library are in the process of working with consultants in an effort to design and construct a library in Green Valley Ranch in order to provide essential library services for the residents of that part of the City.

The new branch is envisioned to be a library of the twenty-first century, incorporating the latest in library technology, including, but not limited to; patron self check, wireless computer access and an automated handling system. It will serve as a community anchor and a location for social networking and learning.

The Library has designated this branch to be a Family and Children’s Style facility, thus it will predominantly house a collection of books, music, magazines and media to meet the needs of children, adults and families to which they belong. Computer access for public use will be provided, along with small study rooms and a large group meeting and community room for programs and other special patron needs.

The Family Style program calls for library spaces that are shared by parents and children. In the "Kitchen," children's materials occupy zones of low shelving defined by taller shelving with adult fiction and multimedia collections. Dedicated areas are provided for shared and family use of computers. Space is set aside for "discovery pods," areas for interactive activities and shared learning experiences.

At a minimum, the Green Valley Branch Library will achieve LEED-NC (New Construction) Silver Certification and Energy Star status. This designation will be achieved through the strategic use of various sustainable construction methodologies, and will allow the facility to function at a highly efficient level that will reduce its operational impacts on the Library, the City and the constituents that it serves. It will serve as a teaching tool to show its patrons how a facility operates, and how practical sustainable steps, when taken carefully, can result in a better building for all.

Architect's Images Slideshow

Update From the Architects (8/10/09)

The Green Valley Ranch Library will be the first new facility designed to support DPL’s innovative "Family Style" program, with an emphasis on bringing together children and parents to enjoy the library.

The form of the proposed design was derived from community comments emphasizing the library’s relation to the plains landscape and the airplanes of Denver International Airport.  The design celebrates the "i-Plains" and the "e-Planes" with an aerodynamic roof form, structural detailing derived from early aircraft design, and the long and linear shapes created by strip farming and other dry-land agricultural techniques.

The concept of the "i-Plains" and the "e-Planes" focuses on the connection between the green space of the "plains" to the south of the library and the library interior.  This transition becomes blurred to create a library that programmatically takes advantage of the exterior space and its connectivity to the interior.

The 26,000 square foot facility is designed around the four wings or strips that organize the library.  Each wing offers programs with different levels of activity that distinguishes it from the neighboring spaces.  The library will offer open, flexible interior spaces which combine adult’s and children's collections around "discovery pods" designed for shared learning.  Public access computers will include areas for shared computer use and parallel use by parents and children.  A community lounge space will offer a quiet reading area with outdoor views, while a sub-dividable 100-seat community room and a smaller collaborative space will allow community gatherings of all sizes to find a place at the library.