Riviera Beach Library

The volume and character of the Riviera Beach Library is meant to evoke the unique location and history of a resort community at the edge of the Chesapeake Bay. As a result, the building’s exterior character is reminiscent of the open and airy beach cottages that are common along the water’s edge. Design features such as exposed white rafters, square post columns, blue siding-like wall cladding, cantilevered roof eaves, and a white trellis opening to a simulated boardwalk like deck are all elements that allude to the nautical theme this library design embraces.

Flexibility and adaptability are at the forefront of the library’s interior design, acknowledging that a few years from now, areas may need to grow, shrink, or transform. Within the public area, the collection can be easily adapted and modified. The lighting is designed independently of the shelving allowing maximum flexibility, including growth or reduction of the collection.

The new library replaced an existing library on the same site — situated on the corner of Duvall Highway and Fort Smallwood Road — but is newly sited for greater visibility and prominence as a gateway landmark to the Riviera community.

The interior design concept for the library also ties into the local nautical context. A spacious, light-filled, lobby welcomes visitors into a café-like gathering space which serves as a pre-function zone for the community meetings rooms, which includes a variety of seating. In this space visitors can socialize, study, access vending machines, community bulletin boards, brochures, electronic displays, and restrooms.