Project Details

The Griffith Building and future Paseo occupy a lot between the new city library and city hall in downtown Round Rock, with a residential neighborhood to the east and historic Main Street to the west. As a centrally located component in a string of city amenities, design of the Paseo and renovation of the Griffith Building strikes a critical balance between these seemingly disparate contexts.

As the former city library, the Griffith Building has been a hub of public activity for decades. As a library, its spatial organization was primarily focused inward. The renovation locates office zones toward the east side of the building, utilizing existing windows facing the residential neighborhood across the street. This arrangement reserves the south façade facing Main Street and the west façade facing the future Paseo for the new art gallery and new visitors center, which require high visibility and citizen engagement.

Thoughtful space planning, conservative structural modifications, and the introduction of new materials create a new public face to the building that is appropriate to its context, unveils the community activities within, and invites passersby to enter and participate.