Teeple Architects, in association with Stantec, has completed the $84.5-million, 230,000-sf renovation and expansion project of the existing Edmonton Public Library (EPL) main branch into an innovative and welcoming civic hub.
Now named the Stanley A. Milner Library, the facility originally opened as Edmonton’s Centennial Library in 1967. The renovation and expansion project actively supports the library’s position as a social and creative destination at its prominent downtown location on Sir Winston Churchill Square.
The original scope of the project included replacing the building’s exterior precast panels with a new energy efficient zinc building envelope with expanses of glazing, upgrading several aging building systems, activating the civic space around the building, and creating a new architectural identity to foster greater community engagement.
The public is invited inside the building via colored skylights, glazing panels, EPL signage, and a new plaza with clear views into the library’s programming, transforming the new library into a welcoming portal between Sir Winston Churchill Square and Centennial Square.
After collaboration with EPL and the City of Edmonton the project was expanded to include a comprehensive interior renovation. Visitors enter into a bright six-story atrium defined by a new “reading ramp” and a two-story interactive display wall. Basement lobby space for the the building’s theater and event rooms is now visible through voids in the floor.
New amenities spaces include large galleria spaces, a cafe, a multi-functional children’s library, maker spaces, a gaming space, a teaching kitchen, meeting spaces, administrative offices, and the PÎYÊSÎW WÂSKÂHIKAN (Thunderbird House), an Indigenous gathering and smudging space designed in consultation with local Cree Elders and their communities.
The Shelley Milner Children’s Library nearly triples the size of the original children’s area and hosts the Gwyn Morgan & Patricia Trottier Foundation Early Literacy Centre, the Brown Family Playspace, and the Al & Fran Olson Children’s Makerspace for ages 6-12.
The Makerspace on the second floor is for ages 12 and up and encompasses 10,000 sf. It comprises 3D printers, a heat press, a vinyl cutter, a sewing and serving center, a book binding area, a fully equipped Fab Lab with a laser cutter, a computer lab, a digital conversion services center, and recording studios.
The Stanley A. Milner Library Renewal project was completed in 2020.
Related Stories
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction market benefits from improving economy, new technology [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Following years of fairly lackluster demand for commercial property remodeling, reconstruction revenue is improving, according to the 2014 Giants 300 report.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Construction Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Structure Tone, Turner, and Gilbane top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, URS, and Wiss, Janney, Elstner top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HDR, and HOK top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 23, 2014
Architecture Billings Index up nearly a point in June
AIA reported the June ABI score was 53.5, up from a mark of 52.6 in May.
| Jul 21, 2014
Economists ponder uneven recovery, weigh benefits of big infrastructure [2014 Giants 300 Report]
According to expert forecasters, multifamily projects, the Panama Canal expansion, and the petroleum industry’s “shale gale” could be saving graces for commercial AEC firms seeking growth opportunities in an economy that’s provided its share of recent disappointments.
| Jul 18, 2014
Contractors warm up to new technologies, invent new management schemes [2014 Giants 300 Report]
“UAV.” “LATISTA.” “CMST.” If BD+C Giants 300 contractors have anything to say about it, these new terms may someday be as well known as “BIM” or “LEED.” Here’s a sampling of what Giant GCs and CMs are doing by way of technological and managerial innovation.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Construction Management Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, Barton Malow, Hill International top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest construction management and project management firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Contractors [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Turner, Whiting-Turner, Skanska top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest contractors in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Engineering firms look to bolster growth through new services, technology [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Following solid revenue growth in 2013, the majority of U.S.-based engineering and engineering/architecture firms expect more of the same this year, according to BD+C’s 2014 Giants 300 report.
