Surprise, Arizona, USA
Richärd Kennedy Architects and White Baux Studio have created the new library for the City of Surprise in order to support the community’s growing needs and create a place of inspiration and innovation to act as the physical link between the Asante neighborhood and the surrounding twelve-acre park.
The design team conducted collaborative visioning sessions and planning meetings with the city and community members to establish project aspirations and needs.
Their design has been awarded a 2021 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The community and city desired a flexible floor plan, plug-and-play technologies, and incorporation of community gathering spaces.
The City of Surprise, architect, and contractor worked seamlessly together to create a unique space for the city: a pavilion in the park.
The project consists of a 10,000 square foot library sited on the northeast quadrant of Asante Park, which serves as a regional retention basin that drains into a greenbelt and adjacent canal.
To reduce site disturbance and developmental impact on retention basin capacity, the new library facility is built on a five-foot-tall plinth extending out into the park.
The plinth provides easy movement from the multi-purpose entry plaza through the lawns, acting as a terrace for activities in the park.
Arrival at Asante library is through a multi-purpose entry plaza with integrated landscape seating shaded below the tree canopies.
The plaza is used for library functions, community gatherings, and exhibitions.
The library serves as an essential gathering and meeting space for this developing community.
The building consists of a large open reading room with floor-to-ceiling glass on all sides affording views of the park and White Tank mountain range in the distance.
The glazing is protected by a scrim and canopy projection on the eastern, southern, and western elevations.
Constructed of folded perforated metal baffles in a white powder coat finish, the canopy form and perforation provide filtered sunlight to emulate the diffused light of a tree canopy.
Support spaces are organized along the north edge of the building within a solid core finished with aluminum composite wall panels, designed to match the scrim and canopy pattern.
The solid core forms the entry facade and is a backdrop for the multi-purpose entrance plaza between the building and the street.
A simple palette of durable materials was utilized requiring minimal maintenance over time, and in turn, reducing future consumption of natural resources.
The elegant scrim is composed of perforated steel stud channels that rotate, angle, and nest together.
The outcome creates a dynamic facade with filtered sunlight, shadow play, and an artistic drawback to a tree canopy in the park.
Project: Asante Library
Architects: Richärd Kennedy Architects
Interior Architects: White Baux Studio
Client: City of Surprise
General Contractor: Haydon Building Corporation
Photographers: Roehner Ryan Inc.
