Library officials were most impressed by the easygoing atmosphere that Safdie incorporated in his design, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported November 13. His preliminary sketches for improving the 1927 Beaux Arts building show a series of skylit spaces with cafes, a bookstore, shops, a daycare facility, and an auditorium in addition to a renovated reading room overlooking a bright atrium and a restored rooftop tea garden.
Library Director Elliot Shelkrot hopes Safdie can help the Free Library carve out a new role for itself in the 21st century. “We’re competing with all the other media and all the other attractions out there,” he said. “No one requires that you go to a library, so we have to be responsive to the market.”
Posted November 17, 2003.