Design

Calgary’s New Public Library Opens with Ambition and Style

Snøhetta’s library design is best contemplated as a public space and a bridge—between the city’s affluent downtown and the less prosperous space to the east.

“It’s designed to allow people to walk freely between these two districts without having to enter the building,” says Craig Dykers of Snøhetta. “So, you pass through this wooden archway, over the tracks, and into the different parts of town. We’ll see a lot of people walking through this very generous public space.”Michael Grimm

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By Tim Querengesser

November 7, 2018 at 9:00 AM EST

When Craig Dykers came to Calgary in 2013 to view the land his architecture firm would build a library on, he found a metaphorical vacuum. “It was a very empty place, a lot of empty parking lots, gravel parking lots, really nothing to define the area,” he recalls.

Nearby, Calgary’s cultural district and its sometimes-bustling downtown had attractions that compelled people to visit, spend money, and leave. Looking northeast however, Dykers could see the East Village where Fort Calgary originally stood before it was replaced by factories which were later cleared for surface parking. In the late 2000s, Calgary targeted the area for revitalization. For those with money, the results were impressive: more than $2 billion CDN in investment, two new hotels, several mixed-use and residential towers, and the stunning new National Music Centre were built. Yet the neighborhood remained home to many of Calgary’s most at-risk people and the services they needed, all delineated by a light rail line that debuted in 1981.

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