Boulder Creek Library

2024 Design Awards Citation Recipient

The renovation of the Boulder Creek Library creatively addresses issues arising from the age and disrepair of the existing building. The non code compliant main entrance, lobby, circulation desk, and restrooms were all demolished, allowing an open and easily navigable central reading room to take form. New ADA compliant restrooms were added, as well as glazed partitions, allowing the community meeting room to operate as its own entity, independent of the library’s hours of operation. New wood paneling in the main reading room provides acoustic control, as well as creating an aesthetic connection to the building’s location among the redwoods. Historic graphics are integrated throughout the library, sourced from the nearby local history museum. In the children’s area the reading room was re-imagined as a playful treehouse, complete with mossy stone floor and fairies hidden in the wall graphics, and with windows looking out on the forest canopy beyond.

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This is a beautiful transformation of an existing library building into a space with strong community input. Simple and uncluttered. The architects appeared to have done a number of projects of this scale: all sensitive, beautiful projects with creative reuse of exposing buildings. Commendable.

//framework for design excellence measures

Measure 1: Design for Integration

The Boulder Creek Library is a prime example of one of the core-tenets of sustainability: Re-using an existing building to preserve resources. In addition, by designing the renovation with input from the community the longevity of the library is ensured, since they value the building and will advocate for it to continue to serve the community for generations to come. In addition to the larger principle of re-use, the library renovation integrated several sustainable strategies. Insulation was installed in exterior walls, incandescent fixtures were replaced with LED fixtures so when lights were in use the energy consumption was greatly reduced, and daylighting was maximized by locating program areas adjacent to existing windows. Another important factor in the sustainability of the library is the location, centered in a residential neighborhood, and easily accessed via foot or bike, reducing dependence on automobiles and fossil fuels.

Measure 2: Design for Equitable Communities

The Community of Boulder Creek was engaged with a community meeting to present the proposed design and gather feedback. In addition, questionnaires were available at the library for community members to fill out responses to design and programming questions, which gave people who were unable to attend the community meeting an opportunity to provide feedback. The feedback helped shaped the design of the library, and provided valuable information about how to prioritize improvements to the building.

Measure 3: Design for Ecosystems

While the limited scope of the project inherently does not have a significant impact on the surrounding ecosystem in either a positive or negative manner, by virtue of renovating the existing library rather than building new the project has a much more limited impact on the environment. As a renovation, the construction duration is shortened, and the amount of exterior work is limited. Disruption to birds and other wildlife that live in the surrounding open space and traverse the lightly developed neighborhood is minimized.

Measure 4: Design for Water

The Boulder Creek Library renovation replaced aging high flow fixtures with new low flow plumbing fixtures throughout. This includes new fixtures in the public restrooms as well as the employee break area.

Measure 5: Design for Economy

Boulder Creek is located in the mountain range at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the most expensive regions to build in the nation. The 4,700 square foot library was constructed for a budget of $1,384,236, or $295/sf, in a region where library projects routinely cost over $1,000/sf. The material palette is very simple, accents and points of interest were achieved with upholstery fabric and wall coverings, and high-cost material choices were avoided. Durability was emphasized to accommodate the high traffic nature of a public building like a library.

Measure 6: Design for Energy

The library was designed to take advantage of the mild climate of Boulder Creek. Rather than add complicated systems, the focus of the design was on passive strategies for daylight, heating, and cooling. The existing inefficient gas heater was replaced with an efficient gas furnace appropriately size to serve the small footprint.

Measure 7: Design for Well-Being

The Boulder Creek Library is designed to foster the well-being of the community through embracing a connection to nature and the outdoors. The library is located amidst the redwoods, located a few miles away from both Henry Cowell and Big Basin state parks. The location in the middle of downtown Boulder Creek allows people to stop by the library as a part of a trip downtown, encouraging a routine of library use and pedestrian transit. The library deck allows patrons to take a book outside on a nice day and enjoy the surrounding redwood forest.

Measure 8: Design for Resources

The renovation of the Boulder Creek Library prioritizes one of the most important strategies of sustainability: Reusing the facility rather than demolishing it and building new. By keeping the existing structure, resources for framing, foundation, and other materials were redirected away from the landfill, and virgin resources were not consumed for the project. While the small scope did not warrant any high-tech achievements, the project succeeds by following the first principles of green design: Renovate rather than replace, improve the envelope rather than the systems, and most importantly implement good design that the community will value and preserve.

Measure 9: Design for Change

The Boulder Creek Library has been re-envisioned as an extremely flexible and adaptable space. The main reading room is designed without a single fixed freestanding element – tables, chairs, and book shelving are all mobile. Nearly all of the book collection is housed at the perimeter, the shelving that does exist in the middle of the reading room is placed on wheels,and can easily be moved to the side for an event, or removed from the space entirely if necessary. The library has been designed to accommodate all manner of future uses without having to be completed reimagined or reconfigured.

Measure 10: Design for Discovery

The Boulder Creek Library is the second completed project of six branches that the Architect is designing for the Santa Cruz Public Libraries. Knowledge learned from working with the library on the first branch has been applied to the design of this and each subsequent branch.

There are several moments in the Boulder Creek Library that evoke a sense of discovery and delight, including the Children’s storytime area, which is inspired by a treehouse high in the forest canopy, and includes a playful graphic with woodland faeries and a ceiling with dancing orbs of light.