Jacksonville Public LibraryJacksonville, Florida

  • Provides the city with a classically inspired, highly efficient, state-of-the-art facility accommodating Jacksonville’s evolving needs
  • Consists of five floors and contains over 330,000 sf of space
  • Accommodates the library’s 2.2 million book collection, as well as a grand reading room, a 400-seat auditorium, a multi-purpose room, a café, a bookstore, and a garage
  • Dramatic changes in elevation combined with the local sands relatively low bearing capacity necessitated using large stepped footings throughout the site
  • The superstructure uses a flat slab system with drop panels
  • The slabs transfer loads to reinforced concrete columns and shear walls, supported on the building’s spread footings
  • Spandrel beams are located along the building perimeter to stiffen the slab edge, and support the heavy pre-cast façade loads
  • A vulnerability assessment was conducted based upon the national GSA blast criteria, due to the library’s proximity to the federal courthouse
  • Awards:
    ACEC New York – Gold Award, Structural Systems 2006
    ACI Florida Chapter – Significant Concrete Structure 2005
    Southeast Construction – Best Public Building, Concrete Building 2006