Deschutes County’s New Central Library Reimagines What a Library Can Be
Designed by Miller Hull and STEELE Associates, the 100,000-square-foot Stevens Ranch library brings together learning, creativity, coworking, and community through a mass-timber design.
Stevens Ranch, Oregon — A library means something different to everyone. For some, it’s a place to do research. Others come to read in peace—to write, to code, to collaborate. The new Central Library at Stevens Ranch in Deschutes County, OR, designed by The Miller Hull Partnership and local architects STEELE Associates, acknowledges these different user groups and welcomes them all. At over 100,000 square feet, the three-story library accommodates the diverse experiences of modern life and learning.
Connecting Communities
As part of a system-wide emphasis on visitor experience, the Deschutes County library system is reorganizing its collection, doing away with traditional Dewey classifications in favor of more accessible genre groupings that encourage browsing and exploration.
Central also expands the library’s “Library of Things” collection, enabling visitors to borrow tools and objects ranging from an air fryer to a sewing machine to a fly-fishing kit. By encouraging borrowing rather than buying, the system gives people the opportunity to experiment with hobbies and continue a lifelong journey of curiosity.
Creating and experimenting are prioritized throughout the library, with flexible spaces supporting activities for all ages, from crafts and quilting to emerging technology. The library also provides coworking spaces for remote workers, students, and entrepreneurs, and leases space to a local coffee company.
Early Learning
The children’s area is filled with interactive elements that stimulate curiosity, encourage exploration, and provide hands-on interaction for children and caregivers. “Trailheads” inserted into the collection prompt young readers to engage with books and share their discoveries. Mobile Carts support activities throughout the library and can travel to other branches, while physical landforms encourage discovery of space, color, and sound.
Exterior Design
As a high-desert area, Central Oregon’s arid landscape is characterized by intense sun exposure. A shingled facade controls daylight and protects the interior from unwanted solar heat gain while maintaining views west toward the mountains.
The library’s base is made of regional stone and dry-toned metal, while its staggered roofline mimics the mountains in the distance. The sloped roof also breaks down the multi-story space, creating areas defined by ceiling height. At the entrance, a soaring atrium creates a grand sense of arrival and helps orient visitors within the building.
Sustainability
A holistic framework of sustainability goals and performance features designed to achieve LEED Gold creates a library that is a community asset for years to come.
A better-than-code building envelope reduces energy demand and supports occupant comfort. All-electric and efficient equipment reduces operational energy use, while a large photovoltaic array provides all renewable energy for the library, and a small battery backup system provides some resilience capability.
Efforts to reduce embodied carbon included setting global warming potential targets, using concrete efficiently, and making meaningful choices for exterior cladding and interior materials. Daylit spaces, natural ventilation, enhanced mechanical filtration, and reduced chemicals of concern support occupant health and indoor air quality.
Structural Design in Mass Timber
The design team aspired to maximize the use of mass timber in the 100,000-square-foot building, which has a 50% lower carbon footprint than concrete or steel. The project uses Type III-A construction, which permits building with wood that’s one-hour fire-protected.
Acoustic dowel-laminated timber (ADLT) is used for the floor deck system, allowing it to perform structurally as flooring, architecturally as a finish material, and acoustically as a sound-absorbing feature. The structural layout creates long spans for open, column-free, and flexible library spaces.
A raised access floor system coordinates mechanical systems, electrical conduit, and fire sprinklers below the floor, leaving the ceiling, columns, and beams as the primary expression of the building. Strategic use of concrete core walls eliminates the need for steel diagonal braced frames, resulting in a consistent expression of the wood columns and beams.
Project Details
Design Architect: The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP
Local Architect: Steele Associates Architects
Contractor: Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company
Civil Engineer: HWA, Inc.
Structural Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing Engineer: Interface Engineering
Landscape Architect: Walker Macy, LLC
Lighting: Blanca Lighting Design
Signage: Mayer Reed, Inc.
Early Learning Environments: Plus and Greater Than
Acoustic Engineering: Tenor Engineering Group
Envelope: Morrison Hershfield
ADA: Studio Pacifica
Art: John Grade
Photography: Kevin Scott
About The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP
The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP is an internationally recognized architecture, planning, urban, and interior design firm that works to create a regenerative and inclusive future through the built environment. Since its founding in 1977, Miller Hull has been designing dynamic and environmentally responsible buildings that provide enduring value for their communities. The firm has a studio in Seattle and San Diego with work extending across multiple typologies for a range of public and private clients where people Live, Work, Learn, Gather and Serve. Widely recognized for innovative, timeless designs and a partnership-driven practice, Miller Hull has received over 350 local, regional, national, and international awards for design excellence, including the American Institute of Architects Firm Award and Architect 50’s Top Firm for Sustainability. For more information, please visit www.millerhull.com.
