Glass. Light. And plenty of words. With the opening of the new Central Branch of the Fort Vancouver (Wash.) Regional Library on Sunday, July 17, comes with it a move by the library to realize its goal of hosting the entire community. And whether they come to read, meet or simply take in the views, the public has options in the new space.

Designed by Seattle’s Miller Hull Partnership, the new 83,000 square feet more than triples that of the old library and provides both indoor and outdoor meeting and presentation space, aimed at hosting civic events, the architectural firm says.

Photo by Benjamin Benschneider

As a key lynchpin to a four-block, 600,000-square-foot mixed-use “Library Square” development—the library property was a gift from developer Killian Pacific to help kick start the community—the development now will attempt to match the life provided from the library as it moves forward.

While the developer was obviously anxious to invite the community to its site, the library jumped at the chance to move its main branch back into the city and eliminate the disconnect it experienced by residing on the wrong side of a freeway.

Photo by Benjamin Benschneider

And all eyes gaze on the $43 million, five-story library now. The building design centers around an atrium, which encourages visitors to browse the library’s offerings “in a retail sense,” which could also lead to a more casual use of the building, even while more than doubling the space for the books.

The first floor mixes the most uses. Community meeting rooms, a small library bookstore, a teen area and the Atrium Coffee Corner fill out the ground level. Administration takes up the second floor.

Photo by Benjamin Benschneider

An Early Learning Center on the third floor uses the model of a children’s museum to create partnerships with school districts and local colleges to utilize classrooms and conduct research based on literacy and early-learning development. The floor also shares room with other youth-centric spaces.

Photo by Benjamin Benschneider

Adults take notice on the fourth floor, where study rooms and book collections, including the Northwest Corner, open to the fifth floor that features adult fiction, quiet reading spaces with a fireplace and an adjacent rooftop terrace—not a bad touch at all. The rooftop reading room and exterior terrace combine views with books.

Using a powerful Northwest theme of glass and light, Miller Hull aimed to mesh the Central Branch with this historic Academy building across the street, while playing nicely with the future private development to the south and east of the library.

Now, with its own new iconic building—Vancouver has its historic buildings already—it’s up to the community to utilize the space and the developer to build a site to match.

Photo by Benjamin Benschneider