Architecture firm Perkins+Will recently announced the completion of King County’s Tukwila Library – a 10,000-square-foot building inspired by the city’s diverse community where over 80 different languages are spoken. The new library showcases a variety of sustainable design strategies – including a green roof with a negative-carbon footprint.
The building, built for the King County Library System, is located 20 minutes south of Seattle in Tukwila, Washington. A community-focused ‘mosaic space’ at the library’s center serves as a space for events, performances, contemplation, learning and reading.
“In designing the new library, we were inspired by the city of Tukwila’s rich cultural diversity, and set out to create a welcoming space that both services and celebrates it,” said Ryan Bussard, design principal with Perkins+Will.
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The building’s facade features charcoal terra cotta, zinc cladding, aluminum sunshades and red- and purple-toned glass finishes, while large windows provide plenty of natural light for the interior spaces.
One of the building’s most exciting features is its roof, which is made of carbon-negative cross-laminated timber. This wood sequesters the same amount of carbon emitted by 91 cars in one year. Some of the roof is covered in a layer of heat- and drought-tolerant native plants that help regulate indoor temperatures while cutting stormwater runoff by more than 60 percent.
