1983, Snowden and Hopkins. 292 W. Meadow Dr.
Various awards, including national AIA honors and recognition in Solar Age magazine (September 1985), were lavished on this earth-shelterd, sod-roofed $2.4 million library. Almost hidden amid 60-foot-high spruce trees, the down-to-earth design, in redwood siding and native stone, is a sharp departure from the Carnegie Greek temple libraries of yesteryear. Inside is a fireplace for cozy reading and storytelling. The north facade, on East Lionshead Circle opposite Dobson Arena, uses the library's landscaped berm, earth architecture, and stone wall to define a plaza, and the building opens on the south to the Gore Creek greenway. A glass galleria connects a two-story office wing with the library.