The new facility, which is quadruple the size of the city’s previous library, includes a conference room, media center, and a café. Double-height reading areas, a graceful skylit spiral stair, and a three-story glass “winter garden” create open, light filled spaces that contribute to the building’s energy efficiency, which is thirty percent more efficient than required by codes. By locating the parking garage below ground the Library was able to develop ample green spaces around the facility, including a walled children’s reading garden, which help to minimize heat islands and reduce storm water run-off. The library was designed in association with Robertson Sherwood Architects.