Manhattan Beach Public Library

This award-winning, LEED Gold-certified structure is a 21,000 SF, two-story library with panoramic ocean views in Manhattan Beach, CA. It is one of the oldest continuous libraries in the Los Angeles Public Library System. The horizontal, active double-skin façade was intricately engineered and designed to dramatically reduce both energy costs and maintenance while preserving transparency. Utilizing low-e insulated floor-to-ceiling glass panels, this façade employs the idea of a ‘thermal blanket’- a pioneering design that uses an active double façade to respond to climate conditions and is considered transparent isolation. Aesthetically stunning, the high-performance façade creates a sense of functional openness, and the highly technical completed design is a testament to the successful multi-disciplinary collaboration and teamwork of all parties involved…resulting in an elegant, open civic space that captures the unique character and mesmerizing coastal setting of Manhattan Beach.