Project narrative: This green slate and wood clad library draws inspiration from the natural beauty of its wooded site. The single-story building’s three wings are organized around a central entrance courtyard serving as a rain garden. Given the sensitive wetland location, stormwater management was a major design consideration with the rain garden filtering rainwater from the inward-sloping roofs before releasing it back to the surrounding wetlands. The exposed heavy timber structure connects the library to its wooded setting and brings a biophilic warmth to the interior. The library features ample daylight, views, and purposeful connections to the outdoors, including two reading porches.
Project location: Norwell, Massachusetts
Firm name: Oudens Ello Architecture
Completion: 2021
Project type: Public Library
Project information: New construction
Size: 21,000 sf
Certifications: LEED Silver (pending)
Client: Town of Norwell, Norwell Public Library
Jury comments: The new Norwell Public Library makes a great first impression with its welcoming courtyard, humanistic scale, and warm materiality. The cohesive material palette, composed of an expressed timber structure and slate and cedar cladding, is rooted in its wooded setting and sustainably responsible, providing a handsome exterior expression and a cozy interior. The jury appreciated the attention given to siting decisions and stormwater management utilizing rain gardens, irrigation-free native landscaping, and bioswale filtration to minimize impact to this sensitive wetlands site.
Images/Photographer(s): Chuck Choi
LEED: The Green Engineer
Landscape Architect: G2 Collaborative
General Contractor: M. O’Connor Contracting Inc.
Project or Construction Manager: Pomroy Associates
Interiors: Oudens Ello Architecture
Civil Engineer: Nitsch Engineering
Structural: LeMessurier Consultants
Mechanical: WSP
Electrical: WSP
Plumbing: WSP
Lighting: HLB Lighting Design
Acoustics: Acentech
Audio Visual: NV5
Rendering: Oudens Ello Architecture
Consultants: Building Envelope: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger; Code / Life Safety: Code Red Consultants; Specifications: Kalin Associates; Cost Estimating: A.M. Fogarty, Pete Timothy
