Austin Central Library
Project Type
Architecture
Location
Austin, TX
Year
2018
Team
Lake | Flato Architects
At 198,000 square feet, Austin Central Library is built on an 85-acre former brownfield site that has been transformed into a vibrant urban hub.
The six-story atrium is flooded with daylight and at night is indirectly lit for soft ambient light supplemented with carefully focused accent lights highlighting architectural features, artwork, and the six stairways and bridges traversing the open atrium.
In addition to the extensive stack areas, the facility includes reading rooms, outdoor reading porches, maker spaces, a technology center, a bookstore, a 350-seat event center, an art gallery, outdoor dining, a demonstration kitchen, and a rooftop garden. The backlit façade scrim with interior glow gives the structure a refined nighttime presence while complying with the City of Austin’s strict lighting ordinance and dynamic controls maintain light levels in the daylit spaces, including the stacks.
