THE REDESIGN OF FLORIDA’S CAPITOL HILL AND STATE LIBRARY

Libraries are great democratic institutions serving people of all ages, ethnicities, races, socio-economic statuses, and backgrounds by providing information and resources needed to live, learn, govern, and work. By connecting people to information, libraries promote community. Libraries also serve an important civic function by helping people to become more informed citizens and providing people with opportunities to participate in civic activities. Properly articulating libraries’ architecture is fundamental to libraries’ success in fostering community and civic engagement. Through contextually sympathetic design and historic typological expressions, the architecture of libraries upholds their roles as centers for learning and community within an urban context.