The Blacksburg Library project was a 25,000 SF building project that was designed to give adults and children spaces that encouraged reading.

The front entry to the building was over a bridge spanning a reflecting pool. A colonnaded front porch that reflected the area’s close ties to Thomas Jefferson’s designs was at the entry.  The front side’s fenestration and proportioning were modern interpretations of traditional Virginia libraries. Instead of shutters, there was more glass, but stepped and sized to reflect traditional wood shutters. The symmetry of the building was impacted by the program and site conditions, such as a ramp from the parking lot and a bicycle path coming through the building along a rail right-of-way.

The building was sited to intersect a bicycle path as well as act as a terminus to a new town oval. The path went straight through the building, and the edge of the path was designed to allow bicyclists and pedestrians to view a cross section of the library, perhaps enticing them to come in and use the library.

This project was a competition entry in 1992.