Treanor Architects

Efficiency and Flexibility

Basehor Community Library was designed to respond to the patrons and public’s desire to have a building that would serve as a community landmark and a comfortable, welcoming home for the library, with the cultural/technological change as a key driver of the new building’s design: directly in the nature of future library services, and indirectly in the ability of the library to model sustainable design practices for their communities.

Basehor’s identity is closely tied to the agricultural history of its immediate surroundings. The library site is former farm land, and our design reflects the rural character in its relaxed composition of three simple building elements forming a compound. The broad, standing seam galvalume roof is set above stone and stucco walls. The principal space of the building, housing the adult library, suggests basilica as well as barn.

Materials and systems throughout were selected with sustainability in mind, including structural columns, beams and ceiling panels made of waste wood, but the centerpiece of the green features is a displacement ventilation system which provides comfort, quiet operation, and energy savings. Sustainable site features include bioswales and a butterfly/rain garden installed by community volunteers.

The Basehor Community Library contains 13,400 square feet on its main floor, with a basement of 4,200 square feet housing a community storm shelter designed and built by FEMA standards. The floor plan combines flexibility and future expansion capabilities with efficiency for staffing and supervision.