PICO BRANCH PROJECT

	A new branch library is coming to the Pico neighborhood. The Santa Monica City Council has designated funds to construct a single-story library in Virginia Avenue Park. The Pico Branch Library fulfills a neighborhood need and is the result of community imput from a survey and a series of public meetings held between fall 2008 and spring 2011. Designed by Koning Eizenberg Architecture, the new library will face Pico Boulevard and will be located between the south side of the Thelma Terry building and the north end of the Farmers Market zone. The library is sited to preserve park open space and the Farmers Market Area and will not need additional parking.

The 8,690 square-foot library has a two-building design. The main, 7,872 square foot facility will consist of children's, teen, adult and popular collections; a children's area; reading areas; public computers and study rooms; and customer support services. To the west, across a fire lane, a separate annex, an 818 square-foot community room will be used for story times and other programs. A small, exterior amphitheater with terraced steps on the annex's south face will enhance the building's relationship to the Park and Teen centers.

The Pico Branch project incorporates many sustainable features. The primary library building will have abundant natural daylighting and a strong visual connection to the park. A dynamic, folded roof design incorporates skylights for indirect lighting. Roof overhangs and a fabric canopy along the entrance façade will provide shade. Landscape improvements include new trees, raised planters, and outdoor seating walls. The Pico Branch Library will seek a LEED silver rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Groundbreaking on the project is scheduled for summer 2012, with completion of the library expected in late 2013.