Harbourside Public Library
Navy Pier district, Chicago, IL
The project
A three-storey public library on a former parking lot, wrapped in a glass reading room that looks straight out across the lake.
The building is organised around a single stepped atrium that doubles as a lecture hall, a children’s theatre and the city’s favourite place to sit on a rainy afternoon.
Precast concrete floors are left exposed to act as thermal mass, and the timber reading desks were made from elm trees felled during the construction of the adjacent park.
Design moves
Stepped atrium
One continuous space from street to roof terrace.
North light
Sawtooth roof lights keep reading rooms glare-free.
Reclaimed elm
Desks and shelving from trees on site.
Open until 10pm
A lit civic room for the whole neighbourhood.
Sustainability
- LEED Platinum certified
- Geothermal heating and cooling
- 38% less embodied carbon than baseline
- Rainwater harvesting for all toilets
- Rooftop photovoltaic array, 120 kWp
- Bird-safe fritted glazing
Project data
- Client
- Harbourside Library Trust
- Typology
- Cultural
- Location
- Navy Pier district, Chicago, IL
- Gross floor area
- 6,400 m²
- Completion
- 2025
- Project team
- Mira Halden, Ines Albers, Walter Brandt
- Recognition
- Chicago Architecture Guild Design Excellence Award 2026
