St. Bernard Parish required a new library to consolidate the existing main branch and the smaller library within the parish courthouse. The chosen site, a wooded area fronting East Judge Perez Highway, necessitated careful site layout due to the nearby main ingress and egress roads for the adjacent neighborhood.

Collaborating with the current library staff and the Parish library board, a program was developed to include distinct collection sections for teens, adults, children, and special collections. Additional spaces were designated for community meetings and presentations, separate study rooms, a silent reading room, a multi-purpose space, a computer room, and administrative areas.

A key design challenge was to configure the floor plan so the multi-purpose room and auditorium could be accessible after hours for community events. The plan allows for the main library spaces to be secured after hours while keeping the main entry lobby open for access to the community spaces.
To take advantage of the pleasant northern views of the remaining wooded area, the largest collection areas for adults and children feature large, glazed walls, allowing indirect northern natural light to flood the space and provide scenic exterior views. Emphasizing a nature theme, the interior color palette mimics the hues of sunset.

The project is scheduled for completion in February 2025. The library is tracking the progress here https://mysbpl.org/newlibrary/

This project was accomplished as a joint venture with Architects Beazley Moliere.

Thank you to our consultants, Meyer Engineers, Morphy Makofsky, GVA Engineering; and to the project manager, Landry Management Consultants; and to the contractor Gibbs Construction.