lafortune park library and community center 

The project is located within a beautiful one-square-mile park.  The actual site is called “The Gardens”.  Our challenge (and therefore program) was to integrate the library and community center with an existing 1916 historic building.  This old boiler building has a round window, which was originally an exit for a smokestack. This set the tone of the design.

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The CEO of the City-County Library system requested a "wow" factor when one entered the library. To save money, our structural engineer suggested the columns in lieu of a clear span, hence the "abstract trees." The exterior pipe trellis (sunshade) system is an abstract effort to suggest a "brush arbor"  similar to those used by our Indian ancestors. Indian Territory, current day Oklahoma, is the home of 39 Native American tribes.