Story

The design for the new Basehor Community Library called for a building of 13,500 square feet, plus a 4,500 square foot basement, on an open site in a developing section of the city. The floor plan combines flexibility and future expansion capabilities with efficiency for staffing and supervision. The building's exterior provides a welcoming aspect to the street and a warm, familiar appearance suited to its suburban location. 

The building was designed with many energy-conserving features. The metal roof is highly reflective, cutting heat gain due to the summer sun. Windows use highly efficient insulated and low emissivity glass. The centerpiece of the energy-conserving design is the use of a displacement ventilation HVAC system. This system supplies ventilation air at low velocities close to the floor, gradually displacing heat and contaminants produced by activities in the room. The result is both cleaner air for library patrons and lower energy consumption, since only the air in the occupied zone of the room, not the entire volume above our heads, is conditioned. 

The choice of materials throughout the building was made with an eye to greenness. Some of those green choices are evident to view, so that the building itself can act as an educational tool. The most visible of these materials are the structural columns, beams, and ceiling panels in the main library reading room, all of which are made from waste wood and given a transparent finish. The result has the visual warmth of wood but an interesting texture that reveals the recycled nature of the material.

Green features are also evident outside. The building has no gutters or downspouts, so rain sheds directly onto the ground from the roof, helping it soak in to the soil rather than running off. In the parking lots, bioswales collect rainwater, slow its flow, and clean pollutants from it by filtering the water through native plant materials. Throughout the site, landscaping materials were chosen for low maintenance, drought-resistant characteristics.

Photography by ©Architectural Fotographics.