paonia public library
The Paonia Public Library campus results from a collaborative, public design process led by Bluegreen and fueled by a community invigorated by its strong sense of place and a commitment to environmental quality and protections. Bluegreen extracted resonating goals and ideas from a series of public meetings. It then translated those ideas into design concepts and spatial relationships that reflect a coordinated landscape conducive to learning and discovery and in complement to the newly constructed library facility. The concepts are further rooted in the community through reflections of the agricultural—organic farms and vineyards—and mining history of Paonia.
The site program includes a sequence of outdoor classrooms that accommodate groups of diverse sizes and ages, such as a reading grove and performance court. The site master plan creates important links to the Town of Paonia, including a bridge connection over the North Fork of the Gunnison River. High performance infrastructure and stormwater systems are linked throughout the site and protect the community’s natural resources. Project details specify materials and resources that are locally procured to ensure the project’s environmental stewardship and to bolster the local economy.
project type: site planning, landscape architecture
location: paonia, colorado
client: town of paonia