The Widener Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia features abstracted African plains colors and animal-themed design.

Keast & Hood provided structural design for new construction of the 9,800-sf library, including engineering the angled front façade and interior columns that are shaped like giraffes. The roof beams were designed to act as ties against the outward thrust of the sloped columns. Rather than strip the site of abandoned basements from former row houses, helical piles were used to transmit column loads to deeper undisturbed soil. The library houses collections space and community meeting rooms, and serves the neighborhood as a polling place and provider of after-school and summer programs.

The Widener Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia features abstracted African plains colors and animal-themed design.

Keast & Hood provided structural design for new construction of the 9,800-sf library, including engineering the angled front façade and interior columns that are shaped like giraffes. The roof beams were designed to act as ties against the outward thrust of the sloped columns. Rather than strip the site of abandoned basements from former row houses, helical piles were used to transmit column loads to deeper undisturbed soil. The library houses collections space and community meeting rooms, and serves the neighborhood as a polling place and provider of after-school and summer programs.

CLIENT: Buell Kratzer Powell
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA

TYPE: Library, SERVICES: New Construction, MATERIALS: Steel, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Completed project photography courtesy of Buell Kratzer Powell