Multnomah County Central Library Rehabilitation

The Multnomah County Central Library, designed in 1913 by A.E. Doyle, is one of the City of Portland’s most important historic landmarks. Working with Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer’s Los Angeles office, FFA completely rehabilitated the library, including interior renovation and structural, mechanical and electrical upgrades. The project opened to rave reviews by the public and library staff in April of 1997 and subsequently received the AIA’s Architecture + Energy Award in 1999 for its successful synthesis of energy-saving features and aesthetically-pleasing design.

Working together, the library staff, artists, and FFA established the design theme, ‘The Garden of Knowledge’ and integrated that theme with the historic structure throughout the building. Carpets, light fixtures, stair finishes, and public art works all contribute to this concept and, at the same time, were carefully designed to complement the historic character of the existing library. At the time the rehabilitation began, only 30 percent of the collection was available to the general public. FFA moved many of the library staff areas to a new addition, allowing 70 percent of the collection to be accessible.