||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY |||
MOUNT VERNON, WASHINGTON — HKP Architects is thrilled to announce that their firm received three of the six Merit Awards given out in this year’s American Institute of Architects Northwest Section Design Awards. Jurors included renowned accessibility expert Karen Braitmayer, construction representative Susan McCants, and artist representative Linda Smeins.
The three HKP projects that were awarded at the virtual event included the Lake Cavanaugh Residence Addition, the Orcas Island Public Library Expansion, and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Dental Clinic Expansion.
The Orcas Island Library Expansion is also a project where HKP Architects revisited a Henry Klein classic original. The expansion added another 6,000 square feet to the iconic and much-loved library in Eastsound. The challenge was to double the size of the original as a natural extension of the interior and the exterior. The design team used the connection point of old and new to form the transition between quieter and noisier library activities, while providing a central check-out and supervision hub, and modeled the existing interior natural light levels to recreate them in the new space.
The jury was “struck by the successful siting of the addition to create a new main entry and drive court for the library as well as interior spaces that provide for a range of loud to quiet environments in the new larger library. The existing library entry became the connection to the public meeting room that allows after-hours use. The design of the new reading room referencing the soaring ceiling and structure of the original is lovely and continues the expression of structure as well as the use of natural daylight. It is a graceful expansion that appears to have grown organically from the original.”
A link to the AIA NW Design Awards website post can be found HERE.
HKP Architects is a full-service architectural design firm in Mount Vernon, Washington, serving public and private clients throughout Washington State since 1952. Our portfolio includes civic buildings and spaces, educational facility planning, non-profit and community-oriented projects, and private homes. All of our projects emphasize long-term value for the client through efficient use of space, appropriate use of materials, sustainability, and the benefits of natural light throughout our buildings.
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The real experience for Orcas is the strong leadership afforded by two exceptional individuals on behalf of their fellow islanders. The library board had the trust and commitment of its peers and all the incredible stewards gave their time and dollars. I remember sitting on the EPRC board when two individuals brought forward a vision for the new expansion for the Library. Explaining their challenges of community needs for the needed growth and balancing in harmony with Eastsound’s charm and quaint settings. It was fun energy and graceful Governance that Margaret Payne and Philip Heikkinen demonstrated and that gave clarity to their unfoldment. Their task was not an easy one, doubling the physical size of a structure, while having the entire experience communicate with the park down below.
The end result is what we Islanders enjoy today and for generations to come.