Public Libraries after COVID will contain more programming spaces, smaller tables without permanent power so they can be moved, and specialty rooms for podcasting, 3D printing and teleconferencing.  At Dennis Kowal Architects, our library designs already include these innovations.  Identifying needs before they become trends, Dennis Kowal Architects (DKA) designs buildings that can adapt with the community and changing needs.

Trend #1

FLEXIBILITY: Reinventing the Multi-purpose Room

Note the reposition-able tables on casters and the independent  power supplies that drop down from the ceiling and recoil back up as necessary.  The windows have automated shades that drop down to reduce glare and a second set of black out shades for viewing the digital screen or projection in this multipurpose room.  The room is used for art, gaming design, yoga, 3D printing, screenings as well as a host of flexible uses that need power, tables and instant re-configuration.

The President of the Public Library Association (division of ALA) recently explained that libraries need more meeting and conferencing spaces to become community-centric.  At Dennis Kowal Architects, our library designs already employ safety and health measures in our meeting rooms and we introduce a variety of meeting spaces which include technology but feature nature.

Trend #2

HEALTHY: Reinventing the Program Room

Plenty of fresh air available on appropriate days where the entire wood and glass Program Room wall opens to an enclosed courtyard created by the back walls of surrounding buildings. Note the teleconferencing cameras on the wall and on the ceiling automatically follow those who are speaking.` High technology is combined with a warm and natural environment.

The New York Public Library and others are addressing social concerns by providing space for social workers who address the needs of vulnerable patrons.   After school tutoring, English as a second language classes and even special needs play groups are all part of the DKA library design vocabulary.   Today’s public library fulfills an even bigger role as it becomes the hub of a community providing job placement assistance, resume writing assistance, reliable internet service and even publishing services.

Trend #3

SPECIALTY SPACES: Reinventing the Reading Room

At the Handley Regional Library in Winchester, Virginia, Dennis Kowal Architects consolidated the Genealogy & Local History Archives into a climate controlled and protected inner library.  Special rooms for working in groups or alone are also available.

But the best part of a local library is just the experience.  There is no other public building in a community that serves the needs of all ages.  Seniors have their building, grade school is only for children, and families rarely travel together to the local municipal building to pay taxes, but the Library is a building for everyone to come together.  Dennis Kowal Architects creates experiences for patrons to enjoy while meeting their needs.

Trend #4

THE EXPERIENCE: Reinventing the Library Image

Whether it is the intimacy of the indoor Butterfly Garden where parents can read a story to their children or the loft and expression of “intellectual freedom” evidenced by the barrel vaulted translucent ceiling and spanning arches, a library can lift the spirits and join people together. Dennis Kowal Architects has clients in eleven states and three foreign countries because they think differently and lead the curve.

Buildings are to be experienced and libraries are the perfect canvas to paint a solution. Visit our website at http://www.kowalarchitects.com