Calgary Central Library | Our Heritage | Summer Walk | 4K

Name: Calgary New Central Library (NCL)
Type: Public library
Location: 800 3rd Street SE, Calgary, Alberta
Coordinates: 51.0453°N 114.0549°W
Construction started: 2013
Construction completed: November 1, 2018
Cost: $245 million (CAD)
Owner: Calgary Public Library
Floor count: 4
Floor area: 22,000 m2 (240,000 sq ft)
Design and construction: Architecture firm Snøhetta & DIALOG
Developer: Calgary Municipal Land Corporation
Structural engineer: Entuitive
Services engineer: SMP Engineering
Main contractor: Stuart Olson
Website: https://calgarylibrary.ca/

The Calgary Central Library, also known as the Calgary New Central Library (NCL), is a public library in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and the flagship branch of the Calgary Public Library system. The building is located in the Downtown East Village neighborhood and opened on November 1, 2018, replacing an earlier central branch built in the 1960s in Downtown Calgary.

The four-storey building cost CA$245 million to construct and was designed by American-Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta and Canadian firm DIALOG after the two firms' joint bid won a design competition in 2013. Their design features an oval-like form and an interior with a large central atrium with a skylight. The building is elevated one floor above street level to accommodate a light rail trackway below, as well as a public plaza.

Planning for a new library began in 2004 and was finalized in 2011. Construction began in 2013 with the encapsulation of an existing C-Train light rail tunnel portal; above-ground construction of the library itself began in September 2015.

Planning and funding:
Planning began in 2004 for a new central library branch in Downtown Calgary to replace the previous structure which had been in use since 1964. The City of Calgary, working with the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, proposed a site adjacent to the Calgary Municipal Building in the Downtown East Village neighborhood. Calgary City Council approved the project in 2011, providing $40 million for its construction. Other sites in consideration, and subsequently rejected included the current Central Library site in Downtown, the former headquarters of the Calgary Board of Education, Olympic Plaza, and the former Telus World of Science centre in the Downtown West End.

Funding for the Calgary Central Library project was budgeted at $245 million, with $175 million contributed by the City of Calgary, $70 million from the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, a city-owned real estate developer. The largest private donation for the project, via the Calgary Public Library Foundation, was a $1.5 million contribution from Nexen, a Calgary-based oil company and subsidiary to the Chinese state-run CNOOC, for the naming rights to a high-tech learning centre.

Design and amenities:
The Calgary Central Library's design was unveiled to the public in September 2014 by architects Snøhetta (known for Bibliotheca Alexandrina) and DIALOG, who won a design competition in 2013. The entire building is oval-shaped and is elevated one floor above street level to cover a C-Train light rail tunnel and an open plaza, included with the intention of connecting Calgary's East Village to Downtown. The entrance is framed by wood-clad arches inspired by the shape of arched clouds made by Chinook winds in Alberta. Landscaping around the library and adjoining plaza consists of terracing inspired by the foothills of the Canadian Rockies.

The exterior of the Calgary Central Library is wrapped in a textured façade, with translucent fritted glass panels used to shield private study areas and clear glass to make public areas viewable from the outside.

The 22,000-square-metre (240,000 sq ft) interior is centered around a four-storey central atrium topped by a skylight. The lower floors contain the library's meeting spaces and activity centres, while the upper floors feature book stacks with space for 450,000 titles and a reading room. At street level, one floor below the main lobby, is a 340-seat theatre, conference rooms, and small café.

The library features several sustainable design features, such as triple-pane windows to save energy on climate control and finishings made of low volatile organic compound materials.

One notable absence from the new library is a connection to Calgary's +15 skybridge system that spans the central business district of Calgary, with the nearest connected structure at the Calgary Municipal Building. A connection was considered, but ultimately rejected because of conflicts with the city hall's hours of operation as well as low predicted traffic.

Calgary's previous mayor Naheed Nenshi described the library as a "New Icon for the city" at the public unveiling of the final design in 2014.

Public art for the library was selected in 2017, with one percent of the project budget dedicated to public art.