Last week, Boise City Council unanimously approved world-renowned Safdie Architects to lead the local design team for the new cultural and civic center in downtown Boise. The center will expand the main library and bring it into the 21st century as well as becoming the new home for Boise Department of Arts & History that will house a performing arts venue for 400 capacity, gallery, and retail space.
This is an extraordinary opportunity for Boise to create an iconic, one-of-a-kind library that will mark Boise as a city that aspires to greatness. For the next 100 years, or more, it will excite and inspire Boiseans as an expression of who we are, what we care about, and where we are going together. A visionary architect like Moshe Safdie will make it one of the most important buildings ever constructed in our city – Boise Mayor David Bieter.
The 2015 AIA Gold Medal Winner Moshe Safdie is more than familiar with designing cultural, civic, and educational institutions. Back in 2002, the firm was responsible for the award-winning Salt Lake City Public Library and have gone on to design the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts with its iconic fanning geometry and the flower-like structure that is the Artscience Museum in Singapore.
The City of Boise has a clear vision for how the new Boise Library can be a gateway to the city. The building program, the public engagement process, and the site itself will be the foundation of a design solution unique to Boise, one that reflects its highest aspirations and values as a community – Moshe Safdie.
As part of the 12-week contract approved by Boise City Council, Safdie will work on restoring the main library. Formerly a hardware warehouse built in the 1940s, it was converted into the library in 1973 and has continuously increased in popularity until it can no longer meet the public’s needs. The new building will boast 150,000 square feet with 110,000 square feet to be dedicated to the library and provide for the many generations to come.
News via: Safdie Architects.
