New Library Becomes Ignacio’s Community Center

Interior features of the town of Ignacio’s new library include meeting rooms, study rooms, a children’s area and an adult reading area.

Photo courtesy of Andrews & Anderson Architects

It didn’t take long for the residents of Ignacio, located 20 mi southeast of Durango, to settle into their new town library, which opened in September.

Billing itself as “The Best Little Library in Colorado,” the 11,000-sq-ft, glass, stone, stucco and steel structure designed by Dave Anderson of Andrews & Anderson Architects of Golden replaced an 1,800-sq-ft facility that the town had outgrown.

The new building was funded with a bond issue, several grants and community fundraising, and was built on the site of the old facility. The library now provides the community with meeting and study rooms, a computer training room, wireless Internet access, a copy and fax center, self-checkout, a children’s area and an adult reading area with a fireplace and patio.

Shortly after the new facility opened, the number of library cardholders doubled. Ignacio and its surrounding ranchlands are home to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and descendants of Spanish and Caucasian settlers. Starting with a conceptual design provided by local architect Dale Hoover, Anderson worked with the town and the library district to develop an design that is a sophisticated, playful response to the multi-cultural environment found in Ignacio.

The library was designed to reflect the local building type while reinterpreting the subtle forms with dynamic, semi-circular and angular shapes. Rich earth-tone colors anchor the exterior while the welcoming interior features brighter colors from the same palette. The building was designed to respond and function well in its natural setting the high plains of southwestern Colorado.

Sustainable concepts such as daylighting and stormwater collection were used throughout the building. Long overhangs shade heavily tinted, southwest-facing glass, providing a diffuser for radiant heat while still allowing lots of natural light into the spacious interior. Mounted to the interior window frames, light shelves made from perforated aluminum work in combination with light shades, bouncing more daylight into the library. To increase transparency and openness throughout the building, a glass and steel rail runs the length of the second-floor balcony, visually connecting the upper and lower levels. In addition, the library director’s office faces the interior with a full-height glass wall.

Shifting the new building to the north boundaries of the site created a plaza for community use. The plaza takes its shape, direction and detailing from the building and vice versa. The town of Ignacio now hopes to harness the civic energy from the library to expand the new plaza to the south, connecting to the Town Hall, and creating a civic plaza.