Oak Forest Neighborhood Library: Houston, TX

Neighborhood Nostalgia

What's a community to do when a beloved, but aging neighborhood library is deemed undersized, inefficient and inaccessible? The city of Houston pursued a renovation and expansion project that preserved the architectural style of the Oak Forest Neighborhood Library. The renovation saved 1,314,000 MJ of embodied energy by using the existing structure and at least $1 million in construction costs compared to new construction. The result is a library that uses energy and water more efficiently while serving customers more effectively. Special care was taken to preserve the root systems of 14 existing trees, including digging for the utilities and the foundation by hand.