Experiencing enormous annual population growth, the city of Spanish Fork, Utah was faced with an increasing strain on public services.  The City’s administrative offices had outgrown their current home, the historic Thurber School Building, while the City’s existing main library proved to be too small and inflexible to meet the residents’ current needs.

In response, Spanish Fork set out to design and construct a single building to include approximately 33,000 SF dedicated to new library services as well as 12,000 SF dedicated to city administrative services (finance department, city council chambers, and a large multi-purpose room). Working with Blalock + Partners, the project team determined the optimal size, configuration, and position of the new building while aiming towards a common goal: Create a civic campus that responds to the prominent downtown location while providing a high-quality patron experience with elevated conveniences.

Through public outreach exercises, the design team was able to interpret the needs and desires of the broader community which ultimately favored a restrained design aesthetic, authentic to Spanish Fork while being representative of the era in which it was built without disregard for its context.

The final building design features large light toned brick masses punctured by slender rhythmic windows, both of which are features that pay homage to the adjacent historic Thurber School.  These masses are contrasted by more contemporary large spans of glass that allow an abundance of natural light to filter into the library spaces.  Slender roof planes cap the glass and hover over the brick walls, allowing for a cohesive bridging between traditional and modern elements.