Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
26,000 sf
Completed in 1996

Midland Regional Library is a bridge between a suburban commercial strip on the east and a quiet pocket park to the west. Based on a simple basilica form, the core design concept is to express the duality of nature and culture, in a modern vocabulary grounded in classical proportions and principles. The 26,000 sf library faces busy SE 122nd Avenue with cast stone tablets incised with quotes from famous authors ranging from Willa Cather to Amiri Baraka. At the opposite end, the building opens to the park with a large glass wall. The long central room receives daylight from a continuous clerestory. The tall clock tower serves as an archetypal beacon welcoming today's community of readers and their families.