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North Branch Renovation
Design Development Drawings
Conceptual Drawings
June 1, 2018
Hip, Hip, Hooray for Library Reopening Day!
Plans have been formalized for a June 23rd Open House to welcome users back to their newly renovated, greatly expanded, and technologically enhanced North Branch Library. At roughly 24,000 square feet, the Library now offers more than twice as much public service space as was previously available. continued
October 10, 2016
The Weber County Library Board of Trustees has reengaged the services of EDA Architects to resume renovation and expansion plans for the North Branch Library. EDA now has reassigned architects to the project and work on construction documents is now underway.
Tentative plans are to complete the construction documents in time to select a contractor early in 2017. Construction will begin immediately thereafter.
Watch this Web page for additional updates.
April 1, 2016: Report to Stakeholders
We are sorry to announce the North Branch renovation and expansion project has been cancelled: see Standard Examiner. Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.
February 2, 2016: Report to Stakeholders on North Branch Design Development Plans
Representatives from EDA Architects met with the Library Board February 2, 2016 to review design development drawings for expansion and renovation of the North Branch Library. Thomas Brennan, EDA Principal Architect, stated the project will be ready to bid next month.
The expanded and renovated facility will be a dynamic third place library that meets all current codes and city ordinances, including provision of additional parking. A new public entrance will connect an outdoor plaza and seating area to an indoor café and lounge seating. Extraneous walls on the main floor will be removed and the expanded space made available for soft seating and cozy reading and study areas. An elevator will offer easy access to the lower level, and a translucent grand staircase with a large skylight will allow natural light to fall into the children’s area. A two story gallery and display wall will connect the two floors on the north side of the grand staircase, offering area artists and collectors a place to exhibit their work.
The space available for shelving of books and non-print materials will be more than doubled, while the number of computers available will triple. The children’s area will feature interactive displays, learning computers, and an opportunity to integrate and house the non-fiction collection in age appropriate shelving, rather than interfiling it with the adult materials as it is now. A sculpture in the giant shape of the letters, Q U I E T, is proposed to frame a special entry into a multipurpose children’s learning space filled with educational manipulative toys and books. The Q U I E T sculpture can double as a fun place for youngsters to curl up and read.
A board room and a multipurpose space will facilitate greatly expanded library programs and offer a place for the community to gather for special events. This activity center will be a flexible design, able to be subdivided into spaces of different sizes, each of which will be infused with technology to support meetings, exhibits, and children’s indoor activities. The board room will be equipped with a large LCD panel to accommodate group viewing and public presentations, while the multipurpose spaces will feature a cinema-quality digital projection and sound system. Both areas will support wireless connectivity and free WIFI will facilitate connectivity to the Web through all public spaces, both inside and outside of the Library.
Bricks in the central section of lower level on the south side of the library will be removed and replaced with glass, connecting the soft light falling through the skylight on the north end of the floor with brighter sunlight on the opposite end of the floor. The lower level will open onto a reading plaza and program space designed to facilitate outdoor children’s programming and a casual breakout area. In recognition of the community’s desire to provide an engaging place for teens, the renovated and expanded library will feature a large center designed specifically with this age group in mind, complete with age appropriate collections, the latest technologies, and touch screen learning-game consoles. Café style booths will invite teens to settle in for group study and other collaborative projects.
The details of this major expansion and renovation are too numerous to detail in print. The Library Board will be bringing this plan to northern Weber County communities for review. Watch the Library Web site for dates, times, and more information.
July 7, 2015: Report to Stakeholders on North Branch Conceptual Plans
Mayors, council members, and other interested people living in the northern portion of Weber County attended the April 7, 2015, Board meeting, requesting that the North Branch Library be given to North Ogden City in exchange for the old public works site. Their reasoning was that (more...)
ARCHITECT
EDA Architects was selected through a competitive bidding process to design and oversee renovation of the Main Library. As architects for renovation of Ogden High School, and with experience building academic and public libraries, EDA is well versed in the process of renovating and restoring historic buildings and the infrastructure of modern, third place libraries "that infuse communities with opportunities for people come to gather to teach and learn, to attend and participate, to gather and enjoy." Learn more about the future of public libraries: Click to Expect More videos. Click to Shared Vision Statement.
CONTRACTOR
TBD by competitive bid process during 2015.
