Cornelius Place Library

A community-minded gateway to a city’s core

Cornelius Place serves as a gateway into the growing downtown core of Cornelius, Oregon. SEA designed this mixed-use development to include a public library, indoor and outdoor community spaces, and affordable housing for seniors. Over the span of twenty years, public/private financial partnerships were formed, and meaningful legislation was passed, to deliver this important project that serves so many.

Client
City of Cornelius
BRIDGE Housing

Location
Cornelius, OR

Size
48,000 sf
45 Senior Housing Apartments

Year
2019

back of building with kid walking through courtyard with garden boxes to the right — The building wraps around a public plaza that is available for community use, with the intent to foster learning opportunities and civic-minded events in the neighborhood.

SEA drew inspiration for our design from Northwest architecture commonly associated with early 19th-century train stations and railroad buildings, a design concept stipulated by the Cornelius Zoning Code for any new building in the City’s downtown core. The aesthetic also takes cues from the massing, material language and construction expression of adjacent buildings in the area.

Site plan using colors to code the program of the building

The ground floor library engages with the main street and further grounds Cornelius Place as a community-minded building. The 13,500 sf Cornelius Public Library features large and small meeting areas, computer rooms, children and teen sections, and a reading area with a fireplace and coffee shop.

Kids reading area with stacks, tables and chairs, and purple conference room

Throughout the library, glulam beams manufactured in Oregon run exposed on the ceiling, creating warmth and a sense of place. The coffee shop is operated by local emergent businesses as a skill-building enterprise.

Library reception and check out area. Ring lights above.

Floor plans showing housing and library spaces — The second and third floors house Cornelius Place Apartments, 45 affordable senior housing units. As the building blocks of this project, SEA designed very efficient dwelling units and stacked them vertically for consistent floorplates.

The consistency of the unit types allowed a greater percentage of the project budget to be used for modulation of the building massing and exterior facades to break up the scale of the building along the length of the block, adding visual interest to the street frontage. The needs of aging populations were incorporated into the design, including glare reduction and accessible bathrooms. The community spaces and the volunteer opportunities in the library encourage inter-generational interactions between residents and visitors.

Sustainable elements of Cornelius Place earned the development an Earth Advantage Multi-Family Silver certification and includes solar panels, rainwater harvesting, and permeable paving.

“Working with SEA on our new library has been awesome! Unlike many firms with signature styles, their goal is to make our vision a reality. They treat us like we are their only customer, responding quickly, problem-solving creatively, and customizing a plan that fits our community’s budget and expectations. Their staff are valued members of our team who bring expertise and sincerity to every step of our project”

— Karen Hill
Library Director, City of Cornelius

Press
Featured on DJC Oregon
Featured on Library Journal
Featured on Oregon Live