Awarded

DWL designed the library’s curved floor plan in response to the constraints of its site. With approximately five acres to accommodate the building and required site elements, the curve prevented the library from appearing cramped between its access road and the neighboring park.

The primary design goal for this project was to eliminate damaging direct sunlight. North-facing window walls admit indirect light, and the east and west walls feature “lizard eyes”—protruding wall sections housing north-facing windows. Internally, the curved walls create the illusion that there is always something more to see around the bend. Floor patterns, furnishings and artwork echo this free-formed theme.

Through its use of indigenous materials, such as copper and brickwork laid in a Native American basket weave pattern, the library’s exterior exemplifies a new Southwestern regionalism. The tri-color pattern integrates the building into its desert environment, matching the colors of nearby hills, rocks and grasses. Spectacular mountain views and desert landscape integrate the form of the building with its surrounding area.