12755 Greenwood Avenue N.
Seattle, WA USA
Fall 2007
Broadview Library Improvements, Seattle Public Library
The expanded Broadview Branch is the 25th project completed under the 1998 "Libraries for All" building program. Overall, the branch grew from 8,405 square feet to 15,000 square feet.
The library addition created a civic presence for the branch, which patrons said was easy to miss along busy Greenwood Avenue North. The architects took cues from the longhouse theme evoked by the original branch with the re-use of massive vertical support logs from the original construction.
The landscape blanaces the outward thrust of the building - a tight planting of native woodland vegetation intends to nestle the library within a green refuge along the busy intersection. Downspouts that drain into retaining planters laid with gravel help delay the discharge of runoff into the storm drains. The landscape plan also preserved all perimeter trees, helping the project feel established from the start.