In selecting the Freelon Group of Durham, North Carolina, in association with R. McGhee & Associates, to design the District of Columbia
New Anacostia Neighborhood Library, the client made it clear it wanted an iconic building that would engage the community around it.
Since the $10.3 million Anacostia library straddles an area that gradually shifts from commercial to residential buildings in the city’s southeast section, Freelon decided to beef up the scale at the entrance with a bright green, perforated bent-metal canopy and a 37-foot-high light tower clad in frosted laminated glass.