Brookdale Regional Library & Service Center
Brooklyn Center, MN
135,000 sf of sustainably designed public library space
Project Description
This was the first major construction project by Hennepin County to be completed using the Minnesota Sustainable Design Guide. The Cobalt Coffee shop joined the addition and enhances both the experience at the service center. The addition to the original building was placed on the south and east sides so that the entrances and building would be more visible to Shingle Creek Parkway. The curving two-story high ‘Mainstreet’ gives height, movement and mass to a building that had been stereotyped as a “bland one story box.”
This renovation incorporated much green architecture: recycled paint was used; space was reconfigured to blend the old building seamlessly with the new space; clerestory windows from the old building were retained to feed light into the new staff; and many recycled doors and windows were used.
