Winter Park Library & Events Center by Adjaye Associates

The library and events center building that is located in the northwest corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Park is a new civic and cultural center that was built to embody the same values as the park's name. This building is also envisioned as a space for community empowerment and development. As part of an extensive park revitalization, the new hub is in harmony with the site's unique tropical ecology and is conceived as a micro-village with three pavilions, each of a different scale and function but sharing the same formal language.

The area consists of a new two-story library featuring an event center with a rooftop terrace and a new welcome foyer that takes visitors from the street to the three structures together. Guided by biophilic design principles, the three pavilions--composed of rose-pigmented concrete--rest on a raised belvedere that provides panoramic views over Lake Mendsen, increasing connectivity to the park's wellness offerings and supporting a new network of exterior green community spaces that run between three structures.

The arches, inspired by local fauna and the region's vernacular architecture, form the shape of the pavilion, with the domed roofline and large windows creating a porous connection between the interior and exterior, drawing natural light deep into the building. The diverse program includes flexible floor slabs for libraries and event centres, encouraging cross pollination and maximizing adaptability for each. The library's open plan supports collection spaces accessible to all ages and abilities, interactive youth and children's areas, indoor auditoriums, creators and technology portal rooms, entrepreneurship centers, and continuing education spaces, expanding the means through which the entire community can interact, study and get together.

The event center features a flexible auditorium space and a rooftop terrace that offers sweeping views of the lakeside garden setting. Striking a balance between a civic library space and a commercially focused event center, the two buildings feature a distinctive sculpted staircase. As an ensemble, Winter Park's Library & Events Center exists as a space for social gathering, intellectual nourishment, and enhanced connection with its natural tropical context