Freeport Library

The Freeport Library is located on a wooded site removed from the town’s Main Street area. Because of the remoteness of the site, important de- sign considerations were to make a building that created a sense of place, was inviting, and took advantage of the private, natural setting. The solution was to divide the various program elements – Adult collections, Children’s collections, and Office/ Meeting spaces – into separate buildings loosely arranged around an out- door courtyard and linked together by the main lobby. This approach created an interior with spatial variety, provided ample opportunity for open views to the woods, and gave the building a quality of having developed and grown over time like a town.

Patrons approaching the building are greeted by a covered entry with natural wood ceiling flanked on one side by a curving brick wall that extends out to become a sitting bench at the exterior entry court. The curving form continues into the main lobby creating a link between the interior and exterior spaces. Use of traditional materials such as wood shingles, brick, and metal roof- ing, combined with modern elements including large expanses of glass and exposed steel structure, create a distinctly contemporary structure that still seems familiar and inviting.