Thor Heinrichs Architect
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Harbor Library at dusk, its arched reading room lit and reflected in the bay
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02 — Cultural · St. Augustine, FL

Harbor Library

A public library on the bayfront, whose arched reading room glows back across the water at dusk.

Location
St. Augustine, FL
Completed
2023
Gross floor area
15,600 sq ft
Sector
Cultural
Scope
Architecture, interiors
Stage
Completed

(The brief)

Replace a closed branch library with a building that works as a reading room, a study space after school and a place for evening events.

(The constraints)

A bayfront site in a flood zone and a historic district, a tight municipal budget, and a requirement to stay open into the evening without feeling like a fortress.

(Our response)

The reading room sits on a raised plinth above the flood elevation, behind a colonnade of five tall arches. At night the arches become the lantern of the waterfront. The plinth holds the stacks and mechanical plant, keeping the public floor open and flexible.

(Photographs & drawings)

Show
Harbor Library at dusk, its arched reading room lit and reflected in the bay
BAYFRONT STREET READING ROOMCHILDRENSTUDY WCLIFTSTAFFSTAIR COLONNADE ENTRANCE QUAYHARBOUR AA N010 m READING ROOM LEVEL15,600 SQ FT (ALL FLOORS)
Fig. 1Plan. Rooms, routes and how the building sits on its site.
Light
PLANTSTACKS +4.8 DESIGN FLOOD LEVEL +4.2 READING ROOM +25'-3"BAYFRONT +11'-10"MEAN HIGH WATER 0'-0" LANDWATER 21 JUN · NOON · 84°MIDSUMMERThe colonnade shades thereading room glass.21 DEC · NOON · 37°MIDWINTERWinter sun reaches the tablesalong the colonnade. DUSKThe arches become thelantern of the waterfront. SECTION A–AThrough reading room, plinth and seawall
Fig. 2Section A–A. Noon sun at 29.9°N: 84° at midsummer, 37° at midwinter. Switch the light to see each state.
DESIGN FLOOD LEVELQUAY01Glazed brick veneer, 4 in02Drained cavity, 2 in03Closed-cell insulation, 6 in04Terrazzo stacks floor, above flood level05Waterproof concrete wall, 12 in06Ground-bearing slab07Lime plaster, ¾ inPLINTH WALLWhere the building meets flood level · not to scale
Fig. 3Detail. How the main materials meet.

(Performance)

Site energy use
18 kBtu/ft²/yr
Embodied carbon
520 kgCO2e/m²
Flood resilience
Lowest floor 2 ft above base flood elevation
Wind
Impact-rated glazing throughout

(Materials)

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