This assignment involved the design of a central public library building for the small city of Tiverton, RI.

One of the many challenging aspects of this project was facing the inherent “expanding” nature of a library. It was important to address the inevitability of the book collection’s growth and the need for additional interior space by making sure the building was readily alterable.

I accomplished this by arranging the library’s main shelf area in a circle, a segment of which was left unbuilt. The unbuilt segment, visible in the view above, acted as an outdoor terrace which could readily serve as a foundation for an addition to the circle.

The circular organization of the building not only served the function of allowing expansion, but also acted as a geometric motif to be carried throughout the rest of the design.