Winnipeg, MB – The eagerly anticipated new Windsor Park Library officially opened today at 1195 Archibald Street. The new 8,000 sq. ft. library is nestled among woodlands and features an open, accessible floor plan with meeting and study spaces, a family literacy playground and an outdoor reading area. The $4.9 million building is designed to LEED silver specifications and is energy efficient with glass walls providing ample light.
“Libraries are an important part of building healthy, family friendly communities,” said Mayor Brian Bowman. “Over the last several years, Council has been moving forward with significant investments in rebuilding libraries across Winnipeg, and it’s great that today we get to open the new Windsor Park library providing an updated and accessible facility for people to meet, learn, grow, and build community.”
Over the last two weeks, 25,000 items - books, movies, music and more - have been moved from the former library at 955 Cottonwood Road to the newly built library. Library amenities such as free WIFI and computers for public use have been installed. Programs for all ages are open for registration at winnipeg.ca/library including the popular family story times.
“Our new Windsor Park Library is a revelation: architecturally, artistically, and environmentally,” said St. Boniface Councillor Matt Allard. “Language, literature, and literacy are touchstones of our shared community and I’m so happy we have this beautiful new library to gather, and share them.”
The new library also features new artwork by Winnipeg-based artist Simon Hughes. Tributaries, a 10’ x 20’ tile mosaic, made up of over 60,000 custom ¾” ceramic tiles, adorns a prominent wall in the new space. It references a network of waterways, the human brain, a suburban development, an earlier and now destroyed public artwork, and (most obviously) a maze. More information about Tributaries can be found at winnipegarts.ca/wac/artwork/tributaries
“The partnerships between Winnipeg Public Library and the Winnipeg Arts Council have placed five artworks in and around our city’s libraries and there are more to come. This, the sixth piece, is a brilliant accomplishment by Simon Hughes, complex in design and beautifully crafted,” said Carol A. Phillips, Winnipeg Arts Council Executive Director. “Simon responded to the dynamic community space designed by David Penner and h5a architects with consideration and respect, creating an artwork that touches upon the neighbourhood in the most imaginative ways. Working with him has been a privilege.”
Background
Construction for the new Windsor Park Library was identified as one of the first projects in Winnipeg Public Library’s Redevelopment Strategy, passed by City Council in July 2012. The former Windsor Park Library at 955 Cottonwood Road was built in 1961. The two-floor building had limited parking and accessibility, and a floor plan that could not meet the needs of today’s library user. Windsor Park Library circulates approximately 115,000 items and offers approximately 80 free programs annually for all ages to learn, discover and connect.
For more information about Winnipeg Public Library, please see winnipeg.ca/library.