Response

Guided by extensive community engagement and dialogue with Indigenous Land Right Holders, the design team translated values of inclusion, stewardship, and empowerment into a building that feels welcoming, adaptable, and forward-looking.

The library offers a blend of traditional and new programming: flexible reading and learning spaces, digital and music studios, a multipurpose room inspired by whispering galleries, and a teaching kitchen connected directly to outdoor gardens.

Inclusion is at the heart of the design: gender-neutral washrooms, barrier-free accessibility, and gathering spaces organized in circles make the library open to everyone. Public art and architectural storytelling reinforce its role as a cultural and civic hub. These spaces were to invite participation across generations, cultures, and interests, making a library that is as much about community identity as it is about books.

Sustainability

The Southwest Community Library is one of Canada’s first Net Zero community libraries, designed to achieve Zero Carbon Building Certification. A high-performance building envelope, geothermal system, and solar panels work together to reduce energy demand, while advanced mechanical design ensures comfort with far less energy than a typical civic building. Low-carbon materials, including glulam and cross-laminated timber, further minimize embodied carbon. Just as importantly, sustainability is made visible through bioswales, stormwater systems, and green roofs, transforming the library into a living teaching tool that connects the community to the systems sustaining it and sets a powerful precedent for future development.