Murmuration

The Mead library is located on a site that will remain a very exposed site for many decades due to low-density zoning. Therefore, the library architecture must provide outdoor environments that are safe and protected from undesired weather conditions. This protection generally has been a catalyst for communal behavior. It is this communal activity that gives places like Mead the “small-town feel” that we know is the main attractor to living in these areas. In fact, providing outdoor spaces which block the wind and provide shade was a need voiced by the community quite prevalently during our community engagement process.

The building’s mass has been compartmentalized intentionally to provide a small-town-feeling building. The repetition lends to an economy of scale that reduces project construction costs. Furthermore, the repetitive nature of the shed roof reflects the agrarian forms found in the region. The building’s form and vernacular were primarily inspired by the prevalent murmuration of birds migrating through Mead and specifically across this site.