A Public Library with Sustainability and Community at its Core

The North Vancouver City Library is a landmark building in the heart of the city, a source of civic pride — bold, distinctive and transparent. The project, which was a joint venture of HDR and Diamond Schmitt of Toronto, is an integral part of the North Vancouver City Hall civic precinct.

The library is located near the center of a public transit hub, in the city’s highest residential density neighborhood. At 36,000 square feet, it is more than double the size of the previous building. Its efficient layout was designed with library users and staff in mind, based on extensive community consultations.

The North Vancouver City Library not only provides book lending, but also supports lifelong learning with a new business and career center as well as reading and computer literacy programs. The library’s flexible spaces are adaptable to the changing needs of the community and to new trends in technology; common spaces can be transformed for a variety of uses.

On each level, a main block of bookshelves creates quiet reading zones that run along the north wall and look into the courtyard, with views of the north shore mountains. High efficiency glazing faces the civic plaza and twin atria, allowing the library’s interior to enjoy soft northern light, which provides a sense of openness and transparency, and reduces the need for artificial light sources.

The project is LEED Gold certified. Sustainable building initiatives include a high performance building envelope, inductive floor slab for heating and cooling, and extensive natural and indirect lighting. A sustainable district energy plant located beneath the plaza provides energy to the library.

Key programming elements of the library:

• Children’s activity room, teen zones, and family reading area
• Group study space and tutorial rooms
• Audio visual zone, computer stations, and self-checkout stations
• Library administration areas including a sorting room and administrative lounge