The King County Library System is pleased to announce that its Skyway Library has won a 2018 Civic Design Citation Award, selected by the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Washington Council.
The award was formally announced at the Civic Design Awards ceremony held September 12 at the Spokane Convention Center in Spokane, WA. The prestigious annual awards recognize projects ranging from schools to public utilities, transit stations, performing arts centers and other facilities, which the AIA says, “represent the finest standards in innovation, sustainability, building performance, and overall integration with the client and surrounding community.”
The 8,000-square-foot Skyway Library’s bright cobalt blue exterior offers a striking gateway to the Skyway neighborhood. It was designed by Seattle-based architectural firm Weinstein A/U to be welcoming, attractive and energy-efficient. The library, completed in January 2016 by Beisley Construction of Gig Harbor, also features an entryway made with teak wood siding recycled from international shopping crates. The library connects to a plaza created as a public space for community events.
The AIA judges were impressed that the building took such strong advantage of its corner-lot location to give the community its first civic building in many years, said Gregory Smith, KCLS Director of Facilities Management, who attended the event. He said judges cited the building’s entryway design and pleasant walkway, its full use of interior glass to provide natural lighting, and exterior aluminum panels that reflect sunlight to provide varied looks throughout the day.
Smith said the award is an honor, but, most importantly, shows that “KCLS not only fulfills its promise to King County voters for new library buildings, but does so by designing and building award-winning public buildings that citizens can be proud of for years to come.”
Skyway is the third KCLS library in two years to be honored by the AIA/Washington Council. In 2017, the Renton Library received the group’s Honor Award and the Vashon Library its Merit Award. Skyway and Vashon libraries were built with funding from a $172 million capital bond, approved by voters in 2004.
