The reimagined library transforms a historic 1955 building and offers a much larger gathering and learning space for the residents of Maplewood. Atelier Ten was integral to devising a pathway to achieving an all-electric, resilient design.
This major renovation and expansion project is exemplary of environmental design practice and sustainable design. Early eco-charretes with the project team were used to develop goals for daylighting and views, responsible material procurement, water conservation, energy efficiency, building systems electrification, and renewable energy systems integration. LEED and Architecture 2030 provided benchmarks and a framework to organize, track, and demonstrate the projects sustainability attributes.
Atelier Ten provided daylight analysis to align the locations of new, specific programs areas with available daylight, inform the glazing performance specifications, and improve overall visual comfort.
Our integrated energy analysis guided the building’s transition to an all-electric system by establishing performance targets for the enclosure, lighting, HVAC systems and the PV array. This analysis ultimately optimized the operation of high-efficiency air-source heat pumps and energy recovery ventilation, while ensuring the photovoltaic system was appropriately sized. LEED v4 Gold certified, the rooftop solar array offsets approximately 58% of the building’s annual energy consumption.
The result is a resilient, energy-efficient, and environmentally responsible public library—designed to serve as a model for sustainable civic architecture.
