Anzelina Coodey

The new Gateway Library, spanning 28,000 square feet, is set to become a vibrant community hub. It will feature a versatile multi-purpose room, a THINKspot collaborative workspace, a dedicated Teen Zone, and a Children’s Area. Each zone within the library will be distinctively color-coded to enhance navigation and engagement.

To facilitate navigation and attract visitors to the library’s entrance, the building identification features letterforms that creatively showcase the library’s name and blend seamlessly with the exterior of the building. Internal illumination shines through perforated corten steel, ensuring not only practical visibility after dark, but also transforming the entry area into a vibrant public plaza.

The experiential design concept, inspired by a geode, is deeply integrated into and influenced the interior architecture. Rough-and-ready materials reflect the natural surrounding of the Sonoran desert, and open to reveal a bright, gleaming interior.

Distinct placemaking treatments on each volume create branded environments for each zone. The ‘Pixel Paseo’, a digital art display, will feature animated and interactive elements designed to captivate children, funneling students from the adjacent school into the library’s core spaces.

The full sign program was guided by trauma-informed design principles, in recognition of the key services that libraries provide to our communities. Wayfinding and other signs throughout use a sensory-sensitive color palette and are bilingual.