Project Details
Public
Charlottetown Library Learning Centre
Program: Architecture/Cultural/Public
Design Collaboration: MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
Photography: Doublespace Photography
In the heart of historic downtown Charlottetown is a prominent, six-storey brutalist structure called Dominion Building. Constructed in the 1950s to serve as a government office, it was converted into apartments in the early 2010s. In 2022, The Charlottetown Library Learning Centre was completed, inviting the community to share the 35,000 square feet of Dominion Building’s ground floor in the city centre.
The exterior design features a new glass pavilion that brings the formerly recessed building out to the sidewalk and realigns the historic urban fabric of the street.
Front and back terraces dotted with outdoor furniture provide flexible outdoor space for the visitors and passers-by as well as for programming activities within the library curriculum.
The interior of the library provides many new amenities including a maker space, recording studios, programming areas, meeting rooms, breakout spaces, an administration wing, public computers, accessible and gender-neutral washrooms, and a community learning kitchen. A large community after-hours space features movable walls that allow flexible accommodation of up to 500 people.
