The redevelopment of the Arlington Central Library is now the City of Arlington's submission in a Low Impact Design (LID) Competition for North Texas through the North Texas Land/Water Sustainability Forum. The design competition is one of several components of the library redevelopment planning process. Discover Division, Downtown Arlington Management Corporation, UT Arlington, the Arlington Independent School District, Tarrant County College and Central Library Visioning are also involved in the planning.
The team supporting the Central Library submission in the competition is comprised of Cary Siegfried, library director; Keith Melton, director of Public Works and Transportation; and Audra Valamides, stormwater engineer in Public Works and Transportation. The library was entered in the Urban Development category.
The competition is aimed at educating design professionals, built environment decision makers, local governments and the public on the positive impacts of LID. Submissions are based on data from four actual properties within the North Texas area and criteria from the region's integrated Stormwater Program (iSWM). Other competition categories include Green Street Urban Roadway, Mixed Use Development and Multi-Family Development. More information about the competition is available online at texaslid.org.
"This competition is about showing that LID is more than a concept or vision," said Valamides. "It is a real, feasible and cost-effective way to make cities more appealing, clean up our storm water and reduce future flooding."
The teams will work through the summer and the winning project to be announced in November.
The Arlington team is challenged with conceptually designing a property with the potential of meeting the vision for the Central Library as part of Arlington's Civic Center while incorporating LID techniques, reducing impervious cover, promoting infiltration, reducing stormwater pollution and reducing long-term maintenance costs.
Siegfried is looking forward to seeing the results.
"Arlington citizens have said their vision for Central Library services is a facility where learning for all ages, family enrichment and civic interaction can come alive," said Siegfried. "Libraries in the 21st century are places where people want to be, not just warehouses for books, and we look forward to a facility that reflects that."
The North Texas Land/Water Sustainability Forum was founded in 2011 to provide exposure to the full range of sustainability practices, encourage their adoption through education, support their adaptation for the conditions found in our local environment, and foster creativity in both sustainable development and the regulatory structure that enables it.
More information about Central Library Visioning is available online at arlingtonlibrary.org/central-visioning. To learn more about the Arlington libraries, please visit arlingtonlibrary.org.
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