Silver Spring gets new Library
People interested
Maryland real estate who are currently living or are considering moving into
Silver Spring homes have a decision to make about which design they like better for the new library. The two options that the residents of
Silver Spring, MD real estate have to choose from are both being designed by the same developer. The development firm is Lukmire Partnership, an Arlington Virginia based architectural firm. The similarities between the two current designs are that both will have an elevator entrance on Wayne and an escalator entrance on Fenton. This new
Montgomery County, MD real estate development will not only house a 65,000 square foot library but also an arts center and coffee shop located on the first floor, county offices on the sixth floor, as well as a community meeting room and terrace situated on the roof.
One of the designs that this Arlington, Virginia based firm came up with is to have an all glass front wall on Fenton Street. Then on the side that faced Wayne Avenue the building would mostly be concrete, there will also be a series of tiered roofs. In the second option designed by this group both sides that face Fenton Street and the side facing Wayne Avenue would both be mostly glass. In this option they also have the building turned in order to follow the purple line that is supposed to run through the site. So as you may be able to tell most of the differences in both of these two plans are aesthetic.
The two designs that were presented by Lukmire Partnership have some similarities. One of these similarities is to build a pedestrian bridge that would connect the library to the third floor of the Wayne Avenue garage. The county officials are currently in favor of putting in this pedestrian bridge, but the county planners are opposed to this decision. One reason for this may be because in the 1999 Silver Spring Urban Renewal Plan there is a ban on constructing bridges over Wayne Avenue. So if the bridge was approved for construction it would be another hoop that the city would have to jump through before construction were to begin.
In order for the developers to come up with the options that they currently have presented it has taken nine community meetings, to determine the requirements and the design of this site. Another interesting fact about this project is that it is also calling for a residential development to be constructed on Bonifant Street. The construction of this new apartment complex was not favored by all the residents because originally they wanted the library to be located there and to have the apartment complex placed along Wayne Avenue. This was not done because the county council thought the reverse would be better fitting for the city.
