Gilbane

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library Renovation,
Washington, DC

Project Overview

From the outside, it's the same iconic building that first opened in 1972. But take a closer look and you'll see that within the brick, steel and glass is a 20th Century Library that deserved a much-needed makeover. The design concept, developed by signature design team Martinez + Johnson and Mecanoo, consisted of a fifth- floor addition to the existing building that features a two-level performance and exhibition space. An extensive green roof space above the fifth floor enhances the sustainability of the building and provides space for the community to enjoy greenery away from downtown DC. The lower levels feature creative spaces for fabrication, music, and art; a grand reading room; children’s library; teen center; center for accessibility and conference spaces.

In addition to the new spaces, restoration of the historic façade and replacement of the exterior glazing system rejuvenated the beauty of Mies’ original design. To create an open layout, the team performed a year-long demolition and lead paint and asbestos abatement process. Smoot | Gilbane removed the building’s original four cores, masonry walls and some unnecessary floor-to-ceiling stacks. During this process, the team salvaged casework, granite pavers, furniture and historic brick that was repurposed throughout the building.

Architect

Martinez + Johnson Architecture and Mecanoo

Contractor:

Smoot | Gilbane, a Joint Venture

Construction Duration:

36 Months

Photo: Jim Tetro

The project was awarded eight Washington Building Congress Craftsmanship Awards, which honor those who individually provided exceptional workmanship on buildings throughout the DC area. Winning categories included lighting systems, terrazzo, wood flooring, plaster, elevators, thermal and moisture protection, and architectural millwork.

The Impact

Since the MLK Library is the central branch, the DC Public Library wanted this to be more than just a library but a community resource. The building is activated with a Center for Accessibility, Fabricator Labs to learn skills like carpentry and 3D printing, sound booths for recordings, Passport office, Department of Parks and Recreation office, conference center, roof level garden space and an event space for 700 people including the 200-seat auditorium to name just a few. This mixed-use community resource is a hub for the city residents for nearly all services the city provides; plus houses the offices for the staff that ensure all 25 branch libraries are servicing their local neighborhoods.

Additionally, D.C. Central Kitchen, a non-profit that trains individuals with high barriers to employment for culinary careers, was selected to run a cafe in the newly renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.

The library features signature works of four black artists: “The King Mural” which was restored during the modernization, “Prepare to Participate” in the building’s entry, “Funktional Frequency, Liberation Station” in the Grand Reading Room, and a rotating selection of Alma Thomas’ works that will be displayed outside the new Alma Thomas teen room.

The project was awarded eight Washington Building Congress Craftsmanship Awards, which honor those who individually provided exceptional workmanship on buildings throughout the DC area. Winning categories included lighting systems, terrazzo, wood flooring, plaster, elevators, thermal and moisture protection, and architectural millwork.

The project was completed below budget and the savings were used to build an operable glass wall at the roof level, which further enhanced the functionality of the space.

Project Photos

An extensive green roof space above the fifth floor enhances the sustainability of the building and provides space for the community to enjoy greenery away from downtown Washington, DC

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The 200-seat auditorium

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These monumental stairs corkscrew through five floors of the building, at both east and west halves of the existing structure

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The Grand Reading Room features custom art by Xenobia Bailey

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Challenges

Safety was always a top priority. For example, Smoot | Gilbane used safety orientations, standdowns, emergency evacuation drills and COVID protocols. They quickly implemented strict COVID safety protocols to keep the project on track. All these curveballs did not discourage the team, who ultimately finished the project on schedule and on budget.

To ensure the safety of pedestrians within the metro station, Smoot | Gilbane performed months of coordination with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to determine a crane configuration that allowed the jib to reach the farthest cores without exceeding WMATA’s ground-surge requirements. This resulted in massive cribbing matts and the installation of monitoring equipment in the tunnel. The equipment was installed and functioning prior to construction and remained for a period time after the crane was disassembled to ensure no impact to the tunnel.

Due to the tight site and restrictions with the metro tunnel, the crane picks had to be blind. This required a detailed safety plan to be developed. Another area which required a specialized safety plan was the cores of the building, which were six-story openings in the building that were open through most of the construction. Due to the extensive amount of vertical work, the team used a whiteboard to outline where everyone was working. Everyone’s name and level they were working on were on the board. This ensured no one was working above anyone else.

Overall, the structure and sequence of work was complex. Safety was always a main priority as the team walked through accomplishing this work. There were parts of the existing structure that cantilevered out into the openings as they demolished portions of the existing building. Ultimately, a perfectly good original beam, that was holding the cantilever and the deck up, had to be spliced. The team worked through multiple scenarios, eventually deciding to do the work over a weekend in a controlled environment to minimize safety risk. It was common for the team to pause critical work, such as this, to a time that was safer for the overall project.

How Smoot | Gilbane Used New Tech for Efficiency

Extensive coordination with the designer was required on the project. Multiple collaborative sessions and meetings with the design team to ensure the final product met all design and schedule expectations, benefited the entire project team. Berlin Steel communicated complicated details and ultimately succeed in resolving potential field issues during pre-fabrication phases. Berlin’s team of technical and experienced industry professionals provided a strong foundation and thorough plan. Their field team erected a unique structural steel product.

The sixth level roof steel came together ahead of schedule for the new fifth level interior space, multi-use event space and two-level auditorium – which only previously served as a roof and mechanical area. Through meticulous CAD design and 3D modeling, Berlin successfully detailed custom connections for various structural elements. This allowed for a unique monumental stair at two focal points. The monumental stair is a collection of steel elements that come together to provide a focal point and multilevel rise stringers and ‘floating’ landings. These monumental stairs corkscrew through five floors of the building, at both east and west halves of the existing structure. Throughout construction and erection of the new steel at roof level, Berlin’s erection sequence flowed seamlessly throughout fabrication and layout, quality assurance and third-party inspection.