The Langston Hughes Branch Library, named after the renowned Cleveland poet, is located within a designated Cleveland Landmarks District and abuts Rockefeller Park, with its numerous Cultural Gardens.  The new building sits on a prominent corner site and becomes a “Gateway” structure to the Cleveland neighborhood called “Glenville”, historically known as the “Garden Spot” of Cuyahoga County.

There were four major considerations that guided the design of the library.

1. The library must “fit” within the context of this Landmark District.

2. The library must have “presence”.  Even though the library occupies a prominent\ corner in a Landmark District, this somewhat small one story building must present itself as a civic structure.

3.The library should become a “Neighborhood Living Room” and be

inviting to all ages.  The interiors could have a variety of spaces, scales,

forms and colors which would provide for a range of new experiences.

4. The library must be a “state-of-the-art” facility which, not only fulfills

program space and functional requirements, but is also environmentally

friendly, energy conscious and features the latest in computer

technology. 

The plan is organized with the private library functions along the north, while the public Children and Main Reading Rooms are oriented to the west and south portions of the building.  An east-west open corridor essentially joins the private/public areas and a band of clerestory windows above allows desirable north light into the vaulted Main Reading Room. The Reading Room volume is, also, symmetrical on the axis of the 1911 St. Mark’s Transept, south of the library, anchoring the building to this specific site.  The western windows of the Children’s Reading Room “frame” views of the park beyond.  Pastel walls, patterned carpet and floor tiles, indirect lighting and comfortable furnishings create a friendly library interior. 

The Community/Multipurpose Room is expressed on the northwest corner of the building as a cylindrical form intended to become the “portal” element to Glenville and to create movement around the curved corner site.  This allows the site’s green space to flow around the cylinder and curved west facade to become an “extension” of the Rockefeller Park Cultural Gardens.

Energy saving strategies were used, such as open planning, the use of natural and indirect lighting, southern roof overhangs, reflective roof surfaces and a “geothermal” heating and cooling system (one of the first in the Cleveland area) to reduce long term energy costs for this 8,400 square foot building.

In summary, the Langston Hughes Branch Library is a “dialogue” between an historic district and a 21^st century facility.  The design addresses context, program, sustainability and technology, at multiple levels, to create a modern civic building, a new landmark for Cleveland and a positive catalyst for the commercial and residential revitalization of the Glenville Community.