Ballard Library

(Photo by Seattle Public Library.)

Facts

• Project Name: Ballard Library
• Purpose: to replace an existing library with a larger one that will also include a neighborhood service center
• Year Built: 2005
• Address: 5614 22nd Ave. N.W.
• Client: Seattle Public Library
• Designer: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
• Cost: $10,963,258
• Award: 2005 Civic Design Award by the Washington Council of the American Institute of Architects
• Design Commission Reviews:
• • site scoping (October 7, 1999)
  • master plan briefing (June 20, 2000)
  • pre-design (November 2, 2000)
  • concept design (December 20, 2001 and May 2, 2002)
  • schematic design (October 3, 2002)
  • design development (April 3, 2003)

Design Commission's Influence
The Design Commission believed the development of the Ballard Library provided the City an opportunity to develop a building that would define Ballard's redeveloping civic core.

The Design Commission made several recommendations to the Seattle Public Library and its design team:

Overall Concept and Direction

• develop guiding design principles to steer the project throughout the design process
• develop the streetscape and civic character of the design from the pedestrian's point of view
• promote a more urban approach to the project's design
• use the comprehensive Art Plan developed for the nearby Ballard Civic Center to identify common opportunities and themes
• develop the project so it appears as a civic place, and the combination of civic and commercial uses should not detract from that appearance
• make the hierarchy of the three uses -- library, neighbrohood service center, and bank -- clear in the building design

Library entrance. (Photo by Seattle Public Library.)

Urban Design and Neighborhood Fit

• explore the library's relationship with the proposed park that will be located diagonally across the intersection of 57th Ave NW and 22nd Ave NW
• select the US Bank site

View of library from Ballard Commons. (Photo by Kadie Bell.)

Site Planning

• further develop the design of the social spaces on 22nd Ave.
• improve the connections between the streetscape and the building's interior
• reduce the number of parking spaces, since it is in excess of what is required
• present creative alternatives for the bank's drive-through
• articulate the hierarchy and use a variety of street trees

Social spaces along street. (Photo by Kadie Bell.)

Design Refinements

• ensure the nautical expression in the design parti is represented in the materials and design details
• explore a differentiated approach in the building's massing and its relationship to the curved wall so it better expresses the different uses and tenants
• clarify the relationship between the library and neighborhood service center
• provide a shared entrance for the project's civic components
• judiciously use skylights to maximize the impact of natural light
• study the technical challenges and maintenance requirements of a green roof
• keep the glazing as clear as possible
• make the roof visible and accessible for educational purposes
• keep the vertical light shafts and sloping roof
• keep the environmentally responsive art and features of the building design
• recapture the sense of flight that has been somewhat lost in the redesign of the roof

Green roof visible from street. (Photo by Kadie Bell.)