Glendale Library • Salt Lake City, Utah

Owner/Client: Salt Lake City Public Library

AOR: Architectural Nexus • Kenner Kingston, Sustainability

Size: 20,000 SF

Estimated Value: $6 million

Services: Architecture, Sustainable Design

Completion Year: 2015

Certifications: LEED Gold v3 (2009), SEED

The Glendale Library was designed embracing the tenets of SEED – Social-Economic-Environmental Design – which promotes the involvement of all the many stakeholders that will be impacted by the building in their community. We believe that a library should belong to the PLACE in which it is built and that PLACE is a product of the local people and environment. 

A core component of the SEED Public Interest Design process is the involvement of the public from the very beginning of the design process – allowing the community to shape the building and therefore the delivery of services most important to this diverse neighborhood near downtown Salt Lake City.  

The gentle curvature of the front facade is symbolic of the open arms that reach out to the community.  Located near the Jordan River, a symbolic river flows through the flooring and continues to the landscape outside, connecting the building to outdoor patios. The library also includes a grand piano, a business center, well used public computers, and private study areas.