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Temecula Public Library
A light-suffused library serves as a community’s emblematic lantern.
The City of Temecula commissioned LPA to design a new library for its expanding community to create “a place to learn; a place to explore; a place to discover old traditions and new opportunities.”
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The learning process for patrons begins in the library’s parking lot. After parking their cars, patrons walk along paths embellished with artwork and signage that depict a chronological timeline of the community’s history, while leading to the library entrance.
The 33,000-square-foot stone and concrete library, situated along a narrow site atop a hillside, was designed with a plenitude of windows to create an interior filled with natural light. In the evening, the illuminated windows serve as a metaphor for the “light of knowledge,” an emblem as a community lantern upon the hillside.
Patrons walk along a linear spine that connects the one-story building’s public spaces. The spine terminates at a heritage room, which houses a local history collection, and a meeting and lounge space.
To host its most exuberant and numerous visitors, children, the library features a room that embodies a local tradition: hot air balloons. The walls in the children’s area are rounded to emulate the shape and texture of a basket and hot air balloon, while bright colors further allude to the design of these flying vessels.
Formal name of building: Temecula Public Library
Location: 30620 Pauba Road
Temecula, CA 92592
Completion Date (Month and Year): December 2006
Gross square footage: 34,000 sq. ft.
Total construction cost: $12,400,000
Owner:
The City of Temecula
Architect:
LPA, Inc.
5161 California Avenue, Suite 100
Irvine, California 92617
P: 949-261-1001
F: 949-260-1190
www.lpainc.com
About the people and products behind this project
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