Renovations and a Small Addition to the Turner Memorial Library

Design Goals

Presque Isle is a small city in the very northern part of Maine on the border with Canada. With 9,300 residents, it is a city that has had more than its fair share of bad luck. The local Air Force base closed down and the potato industry was collapsing.

A recent addition to their library gave them more space and an elevator to connect the three floors, but it was cold and unwelcoming. The exterior was clad with metallic grey panels and the interior floors were covered with grey carpet, reflecting the mood of a city in decline. Entering the front door, patrons could not even figure out how to find the main circulation desk. After navigating a barrage of signs, the only choices were to get in the elevator or take the fire stair to the second floor.

Design Solution

Presque Isle needed something to lift their spirits. The library had the potential to become a much more important center for the community, and we set out to see what we could do. Working with a modest budget, $90/SF, we developed a strategy that would transform the experience of entering and moving through the library from a “sign-driven” experience to an intuitive, warm, and welcoming experience that would help bring the community together.

Starting at the front door we designed a new pavilion to create a suitable entrance to the library. Filled with daylight and natural wood, the pavilion’s curving stair leads visitors to the main circulation desk on the second floor. The interior functions were reorganized to make it easier for limited staff to oversee the many library activities. Program areas were zoned from “active/social” spaces near the entrances to “quiet/study” spaces. Young Adults, previously on the third floor, not visible to full-time staff, was moved more appropriately to the second floor adjacent to the main circulation desk and café.

New materials were used to create a comfortable community setting and sense of warmth: wood ceiling panels, circulation desks, and shelving, slate floor tiles and treads in the entry hall, and polycarbonate panels on the stairs and guardrails. Ice white walls were painted a warmer tone of white, steel gray carpets were replaced with green/blue carpets, and highlight colors were used to evoke the memory of the surrounding landscape in the summer. Glaring fluorescent strip lights were replaced with warm, glowing pendant fixtures. During the design process we discovered three WPA paintings called “The Potato Growers” that were restored for the living room to celebrate the history of the region.

The renovation has been a big success. Visitors to the library increased by more than 40% in the first year, and it is being used by an ever-increasing number of community groups of all ages.

Sustainability

The budget did not allow us to improve the thermal envelope of the existing building, however the small addition was designed with R-46/R-22/R-12 roof/wall/slab values, and good quality windows and glass. In the existing building, the plumbing fixtures were replaced with low-flow fixtures and motion sensors, new light fixtures are LED, and we reused materials wherever we could, e.g. shelving, ceilings, and light fixtures.