Page 93 - Fall 2019

Citation for Urban Catalyst The design, led by a team from Perkins Eastman DC (PEDC),
connects to the surrounding community character with a scale
Cleveland Park Library appropriate to its residential setting to the north and south. A
rounded edge where the building meets the corners of Newark Street
Washington, DC
and Connecticut Avenue pays homage to its Art Deco-infused
Perkins Eastman DC neighbors, and a limestone-framed entryway at its southeastern
corner sets a definitively civic tone for the new structure. Further
Associate Architects: Perkins Eastman extending the residential connections are porch-like balconies
Landscape Architects: Landscape Architecture Bureau, LLC on the north and south sides, where library visitors can filter
Lighting Designers: Stroik Lighting Design outdoors for fresh-air reading and conversation. And just inside
Structural Engineers: ReStl Designers, Inc. the entrance is an open space dubbed The Forum, which arose
MEP Engineers: Setty & Associates out of community concerns.
Civil Engineers: A. Morton Thomas & Associates “One thing that we learned was the demographics of Cleveland
Traffic Engineers: Gorove/Slade Park are changing, and story time 20 years ago was one thing, and
Library Consultants: Library Planning Associates now it's mobbed,” said Matthew Bell, FAIA, who is a principal
Sustainability Consultants: Heller & Metzger with PEDC. “Families would ask, ‘Where do we put our strollers?’
Sustainability Consultants/Energy Modelers: In Posse So it’s as simple as that, but also a big space that has a certain amount
AV/IT/Acoustical Consultants: Shen Milsom & Wilke of formality and grandeur to it, where you can perceive the whole
Program Managers: Brailsford & Dunlavey building, and feel like you're part of Connecticut Avenue.”
Design/Build Contractor: Gilbane Building Company In three scales, this year’s Urban Catalyst awardees show
Design/Build Contractor Protégé: Saxon Collaborative new ways of fulfilling the potential of underutilized resources to
Construction provide better community amenities.

In Washington’s Cleveland Park neighborhood, there are plenty of
thriving small businesses, and also a diverse contingent of residents
to support them. But for many years, it has lacked a central gathering
space. The new Cleveland Park Library (profiled in the Spring 2019
issue of ARCHITECTUREDC) fills that role by replacing a smaller,
outdated branch with a facility that boasts some 7,000 square feet
of additional space as well as meeting rooms for up to 400 people
at a time. These meeting rooms are the direct result of community
input during the design process, and the rooms have garnered
triple the average number of monthly bookings compared to the
prior facility.

New Cleveland Park Library, with Lobby and main staircase. Photo © Joseph Romeo, Courtesy of Perkins Eastman DC
the main entrance at center left.

Adult reading area.
Photo © Joseph Romeo, Courtesy of Perkins Eastman DC

Photo © Joseph Romeo, Courtesy of Perkins Eastman DC

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