Renovating a Historic Library into a Modern Learning Center
Once slated for demolition, the Atlanta Fulton County Library, designed by world renowned architect Marcel Breuer has been given a second chance. Originally, this brutalist concrete fortress for books was designed with an emphasis on keeping out daylight. The 200,000 SF facility was mostly empty and falling to disrepair.
Renovating historic buildings is the best way to save embodied carbon as the steel structure and foundation components are already there. With this in mind the design team led by Cooper Carry and Vines Architecture used analysis to show how minimal edits could save the library. Obviously, when editing an iconic piece of modernism, preserving the design intent of the original is paramount. See how the team enhanced the existing structure to increase daylight while lowering energy use intensity (EUI) and carbon use.
