Graham Contracting Ltd. will begin work on Monday, July 10 on the expansion of The Seattle Public Library’s Broadview Branch.
The 8,405-square-foot branch, which is located at 12755 Greenwood Ave. N., will grow to 15,000 square feet.
Miller Hayashi Architects designed the addition to be spacious and light, while still relating to the original branch, which was built in 1975.
The $7,050,250 branch project will include an updated collection of books and materials, more seating and computers, improved lighting, more energy-efficient windows, a more efficient interior layout and a larger meeting room.
Construction work is expected to last about a year. The expanded branch is projected to open in the second half of 2007 after the furniture, equipment, books and materials are moved back into the building.
The building also will include artwork by Seattle artist Theresa Batty, who is creating several pieces that abstractly reference navigation, as it relates to direction and to personal searches for belonging and identity. Batty will produce four cast glass blocks that contain images and will be attached to a plaster panel, in addition to a long suspended wooden form embedded with glass and copper ornaments. The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs manages the Library’s public art program.
The expanded branch is part of the $196.4 million “Libraries for All” bond measure that Seattle voters passed in 1998. The bond money, which can be used only for construction of libraries, is funding new and improved branches, in addition to the new Central Library.
To date, the Library has completed the new Central Library and the Ballard, Beacon Hill, Capitol Hill, Columbia, Delridge, Fremont, Green Lake, Greenwood, High Point, International District/Chinatown, Lake City, NewHolly, North East, Rainier Beach, Wallingford and West Seattle branches. The Northgate Branch will open at noon Saturday, July 15. Many other branches are in the planning, design or construction phase.
The Seattle Public Library Foundation continues to raise funds from private sources to enhance the public bond commitment and keep pace with the demands of patrons for a high level of library service. Every dollar raised will ensure a level of excellence in the Library’s facilities, collections, and programs that would not be possible through its tax-based support alone.
For more information about “Libraries for All” or the Foundation, visit the Library’s Web site at www.spl.org.
(For more information, call Caroline Young Ullmann, assistant communications director, 206-615-1627.)
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Content modified: 5 July 2006
07/05/2006
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