The library’s folded steel awning, like other elements, riffs on aspects of the aging neighboring buildings.

A courtyard is defined by repurposed bricks.

Inside, perforated ceilings and cork flooring were selected for their acoustic properties. The old bank’s tellers station is now the librarian’s desk.

Driving along Alabama’s State Route 61 is like a journey through the land that time forgot. Past catfish ponds and rolling pastures, the highway pauses for a moment where it swells to form downtown Newbern (population 189), a rustic collection of warehouses and storefronts from the turn of the last century. But over the last couple of decades, Rural Studio, Auburn University’s design-build program, which is based here, has left its mark, erecting a fire station and other structures. For its latest endeavor, the school has transformed a diminutive masonry bank building into a modern, 1,600-square-foot library—Newbern’s first—that maintains the local down-home spirit while providing an inviting community resource.

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The building has a typical American story. Built in 1906 as the Bank of Newbern, it went on to have a varied life after the financial institution failed during the Great Depression. It housed an insurance office, a livestock-feed storage facility, and then sat empty, occasionally serving a stint as a polling center. In 2012, the owner, a local family, donated the use of the building to Rural Studio. The town postmaster had been pushing for a library, and, later that year, four thesis-year students were assigned to the project. In Rural Studio tradition, the small team oversaw the planning, design, and construction over the next 24 months. “The students not only design and build,” points out acting director Xavier Vendrell, “they work with the community to figure out what they need and define the organization behind the building.”

The team realized more space would be needed to accommodate a flexible program for both private study and a host of social and educational activities for a wide range of age groups. “There were two basic questions,” says team member Will Gregory. “How do you preserve this old building? And what does the new small-town library look like?” Restoring the front and side facades, the students pushed out the building’s back with a 700-square-foot extension, clad in locally sourced cypress to differentiate it from the masonry. Inside, in the long, open reading room, the new and the old connect seamlessly, with birch plywood ceilings and CNC-milled shelves lining the interior. A row of alcoves along the building’s north side contains computer stations (with the town’s first public Internet access), study nooks, a deep window seat, and restrooms and storage, while a shaded courtyard allows study and gatherings to flow outside. The team salvaged over 8,000 bricks from the old vault, using them for paving and low walls in this area. They rescued other original elements, such as the vault door, which hangs near the entry, and the teller counter, which was repurposed as the librarian’s desk.

This little project reflects many ideas that have shaped the recent designs of larger libraries around the world, as digital technologies have emerged and these civic institutions have reconsidered their role in the community. But it does so without losing sight of its roots and the people it is now serving in this corner of 21st-century small-town America.

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Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit:

Student design & build team: Morgan Acino, Ashley Clark, Stephen Durham, Will Gregory

Faculty team: Director Andrew Freear, Instructors: Elena Barthel, Xavier Vendrell, Dick Hudgens AIA , Steve Long, Mackenzie Stagg, Cameron Acheson, John Marusich, Alex Henderson, Johnny Parker

David Hinson Architect, FAIA, Auburn, Alabama

Structural Engineer: Joe Farruggia - GFGR, Inc. Architects & Engineers, Chicago, Illinois

Detail consultant: Dan Wheeler – Wheeler Kearns Architects, Chicago, Illinois;

Environmental Consultants: Sarah Fisher, Emilie Hagen, Claire Maxfield, and Paul Stoller – Atelier Ten;

Acoustic Consultant: Gaines Hall, FAIA, University of Illinois at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois;

Graphic Design Consultant: Clifton Burt, Portland, Oregon

The Arkansas Office - Timothy Hursley

Manufacturer of any structural components unique to this project:

Wood I-Beam and FiberStrong Rim Board: Georgia Pacific/Boise Cascade

Cypress Novelty Siding: Plantation Cypress

Aura Exterior Paint: Benjamin Moore

EverGuard TPO 60 Mil Membrane: GAF

Wood frame: Architect Series Double-Hung Window: Pella

Skylights: 14” Solatube: Kistler McDougall Corp.

Entrances: 190 Series Narrow Stile Entrance: Kawneer

Acoustical ceilings: Custom CNC-Milled Birch Plywood

Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: Custom CNC-Milled Birch Plywood

Paints and stains: Krystal High Solids Conversion Varnish: M.L. Campbell

Homogenous Cork Parquet Tile: US Floors

Haiku 60 Ceiling Fan with integrated LED: Big Ass Fans

Z-Bar Solo LED Desk Lamps: Koncept

Dimming system or other lighting controls:

Roller Shades: Hunter Douglas Contract

Talis E Single-Hole Faucet: Hansgrohe

Wall Mount Sinks: WS Bath Collections

Other unique products that contribute to sustainability:

Ducted Single Zone Air Conditioning System: LG

Beth Broome joined Architectural Record as managing editor in 2004 after a number of years working in newspapers, most recently as managing editor of The New York Observer. Beyond architecture, she has written on a variety of subjects, including finance, food, and society and culture. In her current position, she oversees the day-to-day operations, planning, and production of the magazine and edits and writes on a range of projects. Originally from the Boston area, she is a graduate of Tufts University.

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