Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
7,500 sf
Completed in 2000

Conceived as a light filled room for the community, the new Woodstock Library occupies a prominent commercial corner in this southeast Portland neighborhood. The goal in designing this new 7,500 sf Multnomah County branch was to create a feeling of openness and availability: an airy pavilion where the focus is on books and people. The exposed steel structure of the room's large overhanging canopy is cantilevered out of the ground with intricate bundled columns that eliminate the need for supporting walls, allowing an unusual transparency between inside and outside.

The Woodstock Library received a 2003 American Institute of Steel Construction I.D.E.A.S. Merit Award, a 2002 Chicago Anthenauem American Architecture Award, a 2002 AIA Regional Honor Award, a 2001 AIA American Library Association Award of Excellence, a 2000 AIA Portland Chapter Honor Award and a 2000 Portland General Electric EarthSmart Award.