This 14,500 gsf replacement library for Boston Public Libraries was designed while Katie Faulkner was President/Principal of NADAAA. The project team spent a year working with the community on the feasibility study and then won the design commission. New programs include teen and tween areas, a music room, and an expanded reading garden.
The Adams Branch of the Boston Public Library is a focal point on the Dorchester arterial of Adams Street. Following the BPL mandate to welcome all, the one-story building offers an inviting storefront. The single pitch monumentalizes the entrance, while a rhythm of peaked roofs creates appropriate scale among the residential blocks. Varying pitches divert rainwater towards the eastern alley swales and rain garden. At the north, a beloved heritage oak tree anchors the corner of the commemorative Reading Garden.
Program includes Childrens Area, Teen Section, Music Room, and a Community Room.
A heritage Pin Oak, anchoring the Adams Street corner for over a century, commands the Reading Garden.
Intuitive wayfinding and clear sightlines are part of the welcoming strategy.
Rain Garden supports the stormwater management.
General Collections
