Cesar Chavez Arizona Library
Phoenix, AZ
The Cesar Chavez Library is located within the existing Cesar Chavez Park, an important part of the township of Laveen. The park is the backyard for the community and includes an existing manmade lake that is heavily used by residents for recreation purposes. The library aims to preserve the function of the adjacent lake and the environmental quality of the park while providing a place of respite, learning, and a living room for the residents of the surrounding community. The Cesar Chavez Library explores the possibilities of concrete masonry using center-scored, smooth-face concrete masonry units to form the building’s curved exterior walls and outdoor benches. Concrete masonry was fundamental to the aesthetic, functional and structural elements of this project, allowing the Cesar Chavez Library to be highly integrated into its site and respond in an ecologically sensitive way to the severe conditions presented by its location in the Sonoran Desert. Center-scored concrete masonry was well suited to create the curved walls, while the earth integrated concrete masonry walls provide thermal mass, which significantly reduce energy use.