harmon public library

The facility provides a children’s storyroom and First Five Years/Los Primeros Cinco Años interactive learning space for families with young children, a multi-purpose meeting room for community gatherings as well as library programs, patio spaces, a special “teens only” area with materials just for teens, dedicated study space, Wi-Fi and 34 Internet-accessible public computers and a multi-functional kitchen to service library events.

Concept

A gathering place in which the community is enabled to take pride and ownership of their building, Harmon Library is a small library in the heart of an urban park in downtown Phoenix. Over time the diverse neighborhood has integrated the library as a key element within the community; a place to connect for adults, and an important resource for after school working families.  Celebrating the wide diversity and demographic of the community, the building is conceived as a Kaleidoscope; a primary linear space containing the common shared functions flanked by discrete age-dependent areas.  Allowing each to be both independent but maintain a shared experience, the library provides multi-purpose spaces for the vastly different age groups that make[G1] -up the clientele.

Framed with a large expanse of saw-tooth glass, the upper ceiling volume is sheathed in perforated aluminum panels, dispersed with colored linear skylights and slot windows that refract the ever-changing light throughout the day.  Establishing the core reading area, the 25′ high central volume and graphic panels suspend from structural trusses, composing a lyrical play of texture and color reflecting across the floor, walls, and fur[G2] niture.  An open floor plate seamlessly transfers patrons throughout the library and augments views to exterior garden courts and the adjacent community park beyond.