Multnomah County Library has broken ground for construction on Midland Library, one of its first library building projects after voters approved a capital bond.

Midland Library will be expanded from 24,400 square feet to 30,000 square feet on the existing site, located at 805 SE 122nd Ave. in Portland. The renovation will provide more space for community gatherings, as well as teen and children’s areas.

Multnomah County Library is working to build, rebuild or expand eight libraries through a voter-approved capital bond. The next groundbreakings will be Albina and North Portland libraries. Those are expected to take place in late spring 2023.

Colloqate Design is the design architect for Midland Library, while Bora Architecture & Interiors is the architect of record. Swinerton is the general contractor.

Sophia Austrins, architect on the project and co-director at Colloqate Portland, stated in an email that this is an area with a richness of story and culture that has also been impacted by a historical lack of investment and lack of public space. The Midland Library serves as one of the first of many projects to address this disparity and create a public amenity that is designed with and built for its East County residents.

Colloqate and Bora also worked together on the Holgate Library project, where Bora was the design architect. Multnomah County Library communications manager Liz Sauer wrote in an email that Colloqate led community engagement for both Midland and Holgate, working with the Library Building Projects community engagement coordinator Suzanne Chou, as well as Multnomah County Library staff to gather community feedback through surveys, tabling at community events, public meetings and paid community programs.

Community design advocates were part of a paid program that ran from November 2021 to late January 2022.

“The project team and Colloqate did a call-out for applications through different community organizations with our culturally specific library staff,” Sauer said.

Applicants were chosen for their interest in engaging with diverse communities and ability to host focus groups within their communities to gather design feedback and ideas for both Midland and Holgate, Sauer added. Advocates included Latinx families, seniors, Black parents and youth, disabled communities and more.

Austrins said designing with the communities who have often been left out of defining spaces for themselves resulted in a deeper understanding of ways of being and storytelling within the architecture. This ranged from multigenerational thinking where caretakers can connect while children play; circular seating areas that promote ways of gathering that evoke equality, life cycles and connection; space for diverse community members to display their art and creativity; and bringing the library outdoors with an entry porch that allows people to be outdoors while also extending an invitation to those whose backgrounds might bring unfamiliarity with what might be beyond a library’s doors.

New features of the library will include an outdoor interactive children’s garden, large play and learning space, dedicated teen room, updated technology and an outdoor plaza. Another feature is new art that represents the community, in partnership with the Regional Arts and Culture Council, including an exterior canopy, interior gathering circle and exterior sculpture. Throughout the project, walls and ceilings will have patterning and artwork inspired through community art workshops to help to bring familiarity and warmth, Austrins added.

Midland Library closed in December to begin the construction process on the $31 million project; it’s scheduled to reopen in summer 2024.

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