The City of Olathe, Kansas, hired Group 4 and local partner Gould Evans to design the transformation of a vacant grocery store into a 21st-century branch library.

The building program for the new 47,000-square-foot Indian Creek Library prioritizes community gathering spaces: public meeting rooms, group study spaces, a maker space, a teen zone, a gaming theater, and a children’s garden. The front quarter of the library is composed of flexible community spaces and meeting rooms, with a vendor-operated café serving as an anchor. Spaces are linked by a dynamic “marketplace” with new and popular materials and technology. The branch also includes space for the Olathe Public Library’s systemwide services, including administrative offices and a robust processing/sorting center relocated from the Downtown Library.

The design responds to the client’s goals of increased flexibility, community engagement, and connection to nature. The design team peeled away the entire west façade of the introverted grocery store building, strategically inserting skylights, windows, and integrated indoor/outdoor courtyards. The new façade features expansive glass protected by a striking sunshade inspired by the Indian Creek Trail that passes by the site. It is composed of hundreds of custom-folded, aluminum and stainless steel panels, and integrated lighting.