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Burke library set to open
The new Burke Centre Library features an open, inviting design that is the county's fourth “green” building.On June 28, the county's second library constructed under Leadership in Energy and Environment Design guidelines, will open. Two fire stations in the county have also been built under the specifications. Construction on the $11.2 million library began in January 2007.
Huge windows are at every turn, welcoming an abundance of natural light, accentuated by fluorescent lights and other Energy Star-compliant mechanical equipment, running on 100 percent non-fossil-fuel -- renewable “green power.”
Burke Centre's motto is “nature and community in harmony,” and even the graffiti-proof bathroom stalls are efficient in their own way.
“I had a sneak preview of the library,” wrote Braddock District Supervisor Sharon Bulova (D) in an e-mail, “and it looks and feels like a mountain resort. The Burke community will love it.”
The building is designed so that if branch manager Linda Schelekau is standing at the help desk just in front of the entrance, she can see everything and everyone.
“This is by far the most open and natural building I've worked in so far,” said Schelekau, a veteran of the Dolly Madison Library in McLean.
According to the architectural concept, “Meeting spaces, public restrooms, lobby areas, staff work spaces and mechanical areas are wrapped in curving masonry forms which conform to the existing site topography and vehicular site access paths.”
The ceiling tile, ceramic tile, furniture, carpet and window frames were made with 30 percent or higher recycled content. And, adhering to LEED standards, more than 90 percent of the construction waste materials was saved from a landfill and recycled.
For more on the library, go to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/LIBRARY/BRANCHES/bc/.
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