Calgary Central Library opened on November 1, 2018, and it’s built over a train line. The LRT track runs through the site, and the building is arranged so the entry plaza reconnects the two neighbourhoods on either side.
That comes from a media kit from DIALOG, which gives the size as 240,000 square feet, about two-thirds larger than the old central library. Total project cost was $245 million, with $147 million of that for hard construction costs. Snøhetta and DIALOG won an international competition in 2013.
That train line explains most of the design. A library usually sits beside a street. This one had to sit across a transit corridor and still feel like one building, which is a tough brief and a big reason the 2013 competition mattered.
The big wooden arch at the front
The cedar entry archway stands 85 feet tall, according to the media kit, and it’s made of western red cedar from British Columbia. The kit says the double-curved shell is among the largest freeform timber shells anywhere.
Our reading is that an arch that tall sets the scale of the entrance before you ever see a bookshelf, and the timber warms up a glass and aluminum exterior. The architects’ own words about the arch embracing visitors point the same way.
The shape is also a nod to a local sky. Snøhetta’s project page says the facade is carved away to reference the Chinook cloud arches common to the region. If you’ve ever watched that long bright slot open in a winter sky, you can see where the idea comes from.
Why the glass looks like honeycomb
The facade uses a hexagon pattern. The DIALOG kit describes variations on the hexagon spread across the curved surface in alternating panels of fritted glass and occasional iridescent aluminum. Snøhetta says the glazing is triple layered.
The hexagon is our favourite sneaky design choice. It looks decorative from the street, and it also softens a big glass surface so it feels like a place you want to walk into.
How the inside is organized
By mood. The DIALOG kit says activities sit on a spectrum from fun to serious, with livelier public spaces on the lower floors and calmer study areas above. Snøhetta’s page names a Living Room overlooking the train line and a Great Reading Room where vertical wood slats give privacy without solid walls.
Nobody has to be told to lower their voice, because the building does the asking.
Where the name Moh’kinstsis comes in
A library is a gathering place with a card catalogue, so that older name fits the new building nicely.
This is the rare public building where the structure and the site’s name point at the same idea. If you only have an hour, stand under the arch first, then go find the train line from the Living Room.
Keep going with The Werklund Centre build is rolling and it is a good sign or The Building That Rebuilt a Blues Hotel, whichever calls to you. Or try Want to Work in Film? SAIT and UCalgary Are Your Starting Points for a change of pace.
Quick answers
Calgary Central Library opened on November 1, 2018. A DIALOG media kit gives the total project cost as $245 million, with $147 million of that for hard construction costs. The building is 240,000 square feet, about two thirds larger than the old central library.
Snøhetta and DIALOG designed it after winning an international competition in 2013. The building sits over an LRT line, and the entry plaza is arranged to reconnect the neighbourhoods on either side of the track.
The cedar entry archway stands 85 feet tall and is made of western red cedar from British Columbia, according to the DIALOG media kit. The facade also uses a hexagon pattern and is carved away to reference the Chinook cloud arches common to the region.
