The LEED Gold Evelyn G. Lowery Library at Cascade is named after the iconic Civil Rights Activist and wife of Dr. Joseph Lowery. It’s rich history is woven into Fulton County Government’s master plan that set a high bar, linking capital funding to beautiful community focused sustainable library spaces that are cost-efficient to maintain. This LEED Gold high performance green library is saving taxpayer dollars by reducing the county's carbon and water footprints.  Our benchmarked energy and water savings are displayed on lobby monitors for public viewing. All county libraries provide excellent indoor air quality, recycling services, sustainable sites, Renewable Energy Credits, and green jobs training for staff and low-wealth residents. Fulton County Government's enduring thoughtfulness includes using five new solar PV installations at county libraries as “Resiliency Hubs” for temporary emergency warming areas for residents during future historic storm events; as well as providing critical elements in resilience education, and wellbeing for all residents. Our Executive Library Director – Gayle H. Holloman often refers to libraries as the “poor man’s university”!

 

 

We believe the greenest building is one that is already built and sustainably renovated to preserve the original embodied energy used in the processing of the raw materials that were carefully selected by the original design team, Stanley Love Stanley, to construct this library in the late 1980’s. During July 2016, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners (BOC), voted unanimously to restore Southwest Atlanta’s architectural treasure. This library’s original base building envelope was maintained along with its integrated iconic African circular symbol that represents community, eternity and infinity, with no beginning and no end of royal power and lineage. The newly renovated building, designed by Chasm Architects & McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, incorporates high-performance, energy efficient, whole building systems thinking with new designs and technology that work together in sync to achieve a LEED Gold Certification.

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The major renovations of the existing Southwest Atlanta Library consisted of upgrades to the building envelope including new windows and upgrading the Technology and MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) systems. Also, the design incorporates new flexible furniture, fixtures and equipment and well-programed defined spaces for library patrons. The Information desk is centrally located in the main atrium area as a welcome center providing easier access and better visibility for patrons and staff.  Meeting Rooms are located to the right of the atrium, A new Friends of the Library Bookstore was added, and the inspiring Children’s Area has been enlarged. To the left of the atrium the new space incorporates a Teens Area, Group Study Rooms, Technology Zone, Computer Instruction Lab, Cafe and the main Adult Area. Additional computers, self-check stations, community display screen, and a featured art wall for the Jacob Lawrence - John Brown Series, 1977 Collection. Jacob Lawrence (1917 – 2000), was a painter and social realist who said  “My paintings consistently portray the lives and struggles of Black Americans . . . their concerns with everyday reality and the dignity of the poor and all human effort toward freedom and justice.” This extraordinary Jacob Lawrence collection is still salient in 2021 and is prominently displayed in the atrium area.

 

Residents have the opportunity to experience a higher level of community engagement, enlightenment and learning  at the newly refurbished Evelyn G. Lowery Library at Cascade; and to test the new technologies and services, along with enjoying guided LEED sustainability tours by library staff. This library is a beautiful, comfortable, healthy environment that was built within the BOC’s approved budget. To achieve a high level of renovation excellence, our teams practiced an Integrated Project Delivery system, which requires active and effective coordination among all stakeholder throughout the entire project beginning with early community input and through project closeout.  Program-wide LEED Administration oversight was managed by 2M Design Consultants, Inc., (2M).

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The Evelyn G. Lowery Library at Cascade conserves energy and advances the county’s environmental stewardship goals by having each of its 30 library projects certified under the USGBC LEED Rating System to achieve a Platinum, Gold or Silver Certification. The library capital program was financed under a $275M bond referendum approved by Fulton County taxpayers in November of 2008 during the economic downturn caused by the global housing crisis. Fulton County Government's heroic and enduring thoughtfulness included distributing this capital investment to several large, medium, and small businesses in our region, helping to keep our local economy afloat. At Fulton County Government Community Matters!

 

And at 2M, we say “That none of us are sustainable and resilient until we all are, because Sustainability and Resiliency is a Human Right”.  We believe the highest level of the LEED integrative in design is best achieved through Social Equity, Inclusion & Green Jobs Training. In 50 YEARS people will assess our industry’s visionaries as they come to grips with the environmental and financial choices we make today that impacts global climate change. Thankfully, the world’s best problem-solvers are in our USGBC sustainability village at this critical time in world history and we need everyone’s participation.