Williamsburg Public Library Expansion & Renovation
Williamsburg, Virginia

Size: 26,000 sf renovation
11,000 sf new construction
Completion Date: April 1998

Located just a stone's throw from Colonial Williamsburg and The College of William & Mary, this 37,000 square foot library serves the residents of the City of Williamsburg and surrounding counties, offering a quiet respite for them and the thousands of tourists who come to the region each year.

The original library was constructed in 1970 and underwent an expansion in 1980. A stocky masonry building with deeply recessed penetrations, it allowed only minimal daylight into the reading and collection areas.

The new work maintains the original palette of materials, but takes them through a natural progression of time and technology. Today, it requires a keen eye (and perhaps a few hints) to distinguish old from new. Although a complex composition of forms, the Williamsburg Public Library continues to read as a single coherent thought.