Hillsdale Branch Library

Come here to enjoy the quiet, the books, and the sunlight streaming through the windows of this lovely hilltop book-heaven.

Library Patron

Hillsdale Branch Library

Portland, Oregon
12,000 SF
Completed 2004

Client Notes
Provide a new, modern library that doubles the size and capacity of the previous facility. Create a community beacon where residential and commercial neighborhoods meet. Set new standards for sustainable design within the Multnomah County Library System.

Designer Notes
Encircled by clerestories, generous windows, and interior glass walls, Hillsdale Branch Library is designed to be a community beacon by day and by night. The main library space is conceived as an open and flexible reading "garden" while the structure recalls the rhythm of orchards once occupying these south facing hillsides. The cedar shell and wood deck ceiling reflect the wooden houses in the adjacent residential neighborhood and add warmth and texture to interior spaces. Deeply recessed windows incorporate window seats and framed views of the valley, and colored glass panels designed by artist Jochem Poensgen provide dynamic light patterns throughout the building. Hillsdale Library is Multnomah County Library’s first LEED Gold building, durably designed to meet the local community’s 100-year construction quality goals.

Certifications
LEED Gold

Recognition
AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Citation Award, 2009
AIA Portland Chapter Merit Award, 2006
AIA Portland Chapter People's Choice Award, 2005
AIA Portland Chapter Unbuilt Citation Award, 2002