On Monday, July 19, Mayor Adrian Fenty, City Council Chairman Vincent Gray, Ward 8 Councilman Marion Barry, At-Large Councilman Kwame Brown, Library Board President John Hill,Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper and members of the community broke ground on the new Washington Highlands Library.  See press release.

An interim location is open at 4037 South Capitol St., S.W. during construction and offers many books, CDs, DVDs and other library materials, 20 public computers with free Wi-Fi Internet access and has programs and events for children, teens and adults.

The library is designed by award-winning architecture team Adjaye & Associates and Weincek
Associates.  The new library opens summer 2011.

View the Washington Highlands design progression.

View the revised designs presented to the Commission on Fine Arts last November

Hear architect David Adjaye discuss the design for the new library.

View photos and site designs of Washington Highlands Library.

The Library welcomes your feedback, WashingtonHighlandsFeedback@dc.gov.

Community Input

As part of the design process, the library hosted focus groups and conducted surveys with residents to learn what programs and services are most important to them. Participants also were asked about what design features they would like to see in their new library.

The library hosted community meetings for residents to hear from the architect as the design developed. Participants provided feedback to the architect and the library.

The architect presented preliminary designs for the new library at a community meeting on March 31. The architects took feedback from that meeting and refined the designs, which were again shared with the community at a meeting on June 30.

The library hosted a series of focus groups with residents to gain input on what programs and services they want to see in the new Washington Highlands Library. We held two focus group with teens. Feedback was great. The teens articulated ways the library can help them reach their goals. Suggestions included help with career goals, homework help, more computers, job search assistance and more current books.

Teens also want a comfortable, welcoming space designed for them. They made great suggestions for programs for young people, such as programs on saving and investing, more activities for younger children, career days, debate team and even community service opportunities such as reading stories to young kids.

The library held three focus groups with adults. Adults told us they want a warm, inviting library with plenty of natural light. They want more computers, comfortable seating, and space for groups to hold meetings. Adults want the library to have separate spaces for adults, teens and young children.

The library created questionnaires as an additional means of gathering input, including one for parents with young children. More than 90 people returned the surveys.

All of this feedback has been shared with the architects and with library staff.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

The library completed an independent Facility Condition Assessment of the building’s condition before determining it was best to rebuild this building rather than renovate.