Bluffton Branch Library

Bluffton, SC

The branch library is located in a neo-traditional town center in coastal South Carolina. The building was designed in a Low Country vernacular with classical massing, tabby stucco walls and multiple porches. An architectural design challenge was to create a one-story library that was aesthetically compatible with the two-story buildings of the town center. The solution was a two-story volume in the center of the building that runs from the main entrance to the rear. This provided an opportunity for a spacious interior gallery with clerestory windows and exposed wooden roof trusses.

The interior color and finish palette was inspired by colonial homes in the tropics and includes reclaimed antique heart Pine flooring, sculpted carpet reminiscent of sisal mats and sand patterns at low tide and vibrant paint colors. Wave floor patterns were created from multiple colors of carpet in the Children’s Reading Room.