Felton Library / Felton's new library, a community gathering space for the San Lorenzo Valley's 25,000 residents, prioritizes environmental awareness, innovative materials, and a seamless connection to the adjacent 2-acre Discovery Park. The landscape concept embraces the town’s forest and woodland plant communities and commemorates the local timber industry that has played an integral role in Felton’s cultural history. The garden patio, envisioned as a playful and interactive space, includes a water-pump and redwood flume, log stumps for seating, raised beds for gardening workshops, a pollinator garden, and a triptych of monarch butterfly panels completed with a local artist. Viewed from inside the library, the patio provides a signature indoor/outdoor experience. The parking lot features closing gates that allow it to function as a venue for community events. Early design efforts helped to develop the concept for the Discovery Park and its interpretive trail, creek-crossing bridges, and interactive areas. Project scope included community engagement, public presentations, illustrations for fundraising, and a successful partnership with multiple agencies and stakeholders.
Photo: yuki batterson, yuki b photography
Client: Santa Cruz Public Libraries + County of Santa Cruz
Location: Felton, CA
Dates: 2016-2020
Size: 8,890-s.f. building, 2-acre site
Cost: $11.4 million
Architect: Teall Messer Architect
Civil Engineer: Ifland Engineers
Construction Manager: Bogard Construction, Inc.
General Contractor: Thompson Builders Corporation
Landscape Contractor: Marina Landscape, Inc.
Environmental Artist: Lea de Wit
Photo: yuki batterson, yuki b photography
Library site plan, including conceptual design for Discovery Park.
Enlarged plan for courtyard.
Initial conceptual plan.
Initial conceptual plan - courtyard enlargement.