Main & Francis Branches (St. Joseph County Public Library) Location South Bend, Indiana Size 120,400 Square Feet Cost Please contact us for up-to-date figures Status Completed The growing use of the St. Joseph County Public Library system produced substantial wear on the library facilities, particularly the downtown main library building—the system’s flagship facility. Woollen, Molzan and Partners led the programming and design process that responded to the need for reorganization, retrofitting, and a new addition to the late 1940s structure. The project also included a new exterior “skin” for the entire facility to help correct severe environmental problems in the existing structure. Other goals were to improve space utilization, expand all departments, increase patron accessibility, improve lighting, reduce noise levels, provide new furnishings and equipment, retrofit the mechanical systems, and integrate the new and existing facilities. Woollen, Molzan and Partners evolved a design that borrowed from the existing facility but wrapped the whole with a continuous facade. The main entrance was relocated so that it was more in the center of gravity for the facilities reorganized functions and more logically accessible to walkers and the parking lot. New landscaping added much needed green and a new parking lot provided much needed parking. The interior wall dramatically changed through the addition of vivid color and furnishings. Renovations were also completed for the Francis Branch as a part of this expansion project. Contact Project Architect Kevin Huse: khuse@woollenmolzan.com 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20  21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29  Return To Project List