Benning Neighborhood Library

Forrester Construction rebuilt the Benning Neighborhood Library, which opened in 2010 as one in a series of DC Public Library construction and improvement projects. The 22,000 SF, two-story library’s flexible design provides access to the building via two entrances on the building’s upper and lower levels. Inside the building, the library’s floors are connected by a central stairway that creates a corridor encouraging circulation. The library’s lower level includes a multipurpose room, meeting rooms and an exhibition space, while the upper level houses the reference and periodical sections, reading rooms, a children’s library and electronic resources.

This project achieved LEED™ Gold certification through the incorporation of sustainable features including a vegetated green roof, daylight management and air displacement systems. The building was also constructed extensively with recycled and renewable materials including a copper panel façade almost entirely consisting of recycled content.

During construction, soil contamination issues were discovered that threatened to significantly delay and endanger the project. To resolve this issue, Forrester brought in an outside consultant specializing in environmental sampling and contamination resolution.

Project Location:

Washington, DC

Architect:

Davis, Brody, Bond, Aedas

Size:

25,000 SF

Schedule:

12 months

Highlights:

LEED™ Gold

Awards:

• Associated General Contractors of Metropolitan Washington Award
• North American Copper in Architecture Award
• Washington Building Congress Craftsmanship Award