Located at a busy intersection in the heart of an urban neighborhood, the branch library is connected to the neighborhood school and faces a small plaza. The design expands and renovates the existing library with light-filled spaces that project outward into the plaza. The scale of the addition is visually reduced through the use of energy-efficient glass walls and the articulation of the perimeter walls, to reflect the scale of houses and storefronts in the neighborhood. The use of glass for the walls makes the activities and opportunities for learning within the library more visible and inviting to the surrounding community.