Durango Public Library

Scheduled for completion by the end of 2008, the new Durango Public Library will replace the current 100-year-old, 15,000 square foot Carnegie library in downtown Durango with a new 42,900 square foot facility on the Animas River just north of historic downtown. The new state-of-the-art facility is planned to feature expanded collection and reading areas including both children and young adults program spaces, meeting rooms, public art, outdoor patios, a coffee kiosk, and extensive technology features and areas.

During 2006, Earthly Ideas laid the groundwork for the inclusion of sustainable strategies in this project. We served as sustainability and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) consultant and facilitated a sustainable design kickoff charrette during the project’s schematic design phase. The Durango Public Library is the first City of Durango municipal project to work towards sustainable design and construction using the LEED framework and is targeting LEED Gold certification.