Surrey, BC

Client   City of Surrey
Type Institutional, Civic, Library
Size   82,000 sq.ft.
Status   Completed 2011
Photography   Ema Peter, Nic Lehoux

Surrey City Centre Library

Revery’s award-winning design for Surrey’s LEED Gold-certified City Centre Library features extensive use of concrete and glass to create a modern, open, light-filled, and welcoming community space. Completed below budget on a 22-month fast-tracked schedule, this new central library was the first building in the City of Surrey’s Urban Civic Precinct and marks the next phase of a major civic investment in the transformation of downtown Surrey, BC.

Centrally located adjacent to one of the most intensively utilized transit hubs in Metro Vancouver, the building’s flexible design evolved from the need to provide a space for reading, studying, and above all, gathering as a community. Sculpted around a soaring column-free atrium and meticulous day-lighting strategy, the library features angled walls, floor-to-ceiling windows and vaulted skylights that cascade natural light into the building’s center, illuminating every corner and refracting light from the angled white ribbons that wrap each floor. At all times, the room, as well as the stacks and various activity spaces, remain open and transparent to each other, encouraging people to interact both within the building and outside.

Equipped with the latest in technology, the design offers spaces for group and individual study, and community gathering: a Living Room, a “place with a couch for mom to wait”, a coffee shop, a Dinner Table for group work, and Listening Chairs with integrated audio speakers.

Acclaimed internationally for its unique and contemporary design, Surrey’s City Centre Library is dedicated to natural light, social interaction, and pride of knowledge for its diverse community of patrons.