GREENFIELD — The architects designing the town’s new library unveiled a model of a potential two-story, 30,500-square-foot building during a public forum Tuesday night, which features community meeting rooms, spacious children’s and teens’ sections and rooftop solar panels.
The forum, held to gather public input on the plan, included presentations on how the project would be funded, how it’s progressing and where it will go from here. There was standing room only during the meeting, which was held at the current library, as more than 50 members of the community turned out to learn about the project, make comments and ask questions.
Library Director Ellen Boyer said the project is currently in the planning and design phase, which is funded by a $50,000 grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners as well as $25,000 approved by Town Council. The design process will continue until October, at which point Boyer will begin working on an MBLC construction grant application, which could fund half the cost of the project.
Other sources of funding include a capital campaign and contributions from the town.
The grant application is due in January 2017 and the town will hear back the following July. If Greenfield is selected as a recipient, construction would begin in July 2018 and be completed about two years later.
Architects Stewart Roberts and Philip O’Brien of Johnson Roberts Associates presented conceptual models of the building, which feature a red brick exterior, three photovoltaic arrays on the roof and a 65-space parking lot behind the current library building.
In the plans, the new building sits next door to the current building, with the front of each nearly lined up.
A two-way driveway runs between the two buildings.
“We’re still in the conceptual design phase trying to come up with a vision for what the library could be here,” Roberts said, adding public input is a key component to that process. “I think there’s been a real effort to design a building that has something in it for everybody.”
Interior plans of the building show a large meeting room adjacent to a conference room, which could be closed off from the rest of the building and used after hours. The design also includes a children’s department, featuring an activity room, book stacks, homework and computer areas; an adult department upstairs, including book collections, reading areas and group study rooms; a teen area; a staff area; a book sale room and more.
Roberts said he also tried to take advantage of views when designing the building. When looking at the model of the structure from across the street, the left, front section of the building features glass walls on both floors, which Roberts said would allow those inside to look out at Main Street as well as those on the street to look at the activities going on inside the building.
The plan also features an outdoor rooftop terrace on the second floor and a first-floor terrace adjacent to the children’s section.
“That’s one of the spots where we thought we could have great views looking out toward the hills in the background,” he said.
O’Brien added the building will be very energy-efficient, and the project could receive more reimbursement from the MBLC by achieving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Other features include lighting that will automatically dim based on the amount of daylight coming in through the windows and a design, based on the sun’s position in the sky, that will allow more daylight to enter during the winter and less during the summer. That, he said, would help save on heating and cooling costs.
The architects said they also made an effort to make the building as adaptable as possible to future uses.
“This is really one, big, open flexible space so if 20 years from now the nature of the book collections has changed, you can move all of that around,” Roberts said of the upstairs space.
Some residents, however, expressed concern at the building’s handicapped accessibility and whether the modern design would fit into the character of the town.
One resident noted the handicapped parking spaces are located across the driveway, meaning those using wheelchairs or walkers would have to cross two lanes of traffic to get into the building.
“There was kind of a choice that we made early on about locating the parking as close to the front as we could get it or locating it further back,” O’Brien said. “We will certainly look at that to see if we can get a better solution.”
When asked about the character of the building, Roberts said the new library should be inviting and welcoming and hopes the red brick exterior will work well with the buildings around it.
“We would like it to feel like it belongs in Greenfield,” he said. “At the same time, you have a whole bunch of different types of architectural styles and to pick one out and emulate it might not be the right approach.”
In order for the project to be built, the fire station would have to be demolished. However, project manager Mark Sullivan of Northampton-based D.A. Sullivan and Sons said that would not hinder construction.
“If the safety complex doesn’t move forward with the pace we need it to for the construction to start, a temporary facility has already been established for the fire department,” he said.
You can reach Aviva Luttrell at:
aluttrell@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 268
On Twitter: @AvivaLuttrell