After nine months of community input, Boston-based architect Moshe Safdie has unveiled his design for a $60-million Salt Lake City main library that he hopes will provide a focal point for the city’s downtown.
Safdie’s design, presented at a February 12 gala celebration, features a five-story triangular-shaped main building, an adjacent administration building, a glass-enclosed Urban Room, and a piazza. A curving, climbable wall will weave the site together and contain shops and eateries at its base as well as steps leading to a roof garden, the Deseret News reported February 13.
Library board President John Becker described the design as a “real architectural landmark that will be beautiful, artistic, and functional.”
Library Director Nancy Tessman praised Safdie’s work. “He really understands the bigger picture,” she said. “He was the only architect [out of 22 who applied] who got that this wasn’t just the library building. This was about making the block work.”
Construction is scheduled to begin in fall, with a completion date in 2002.
Posted February 21, 2000.