Skip to content
Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects
CALS CL 1
CALS CL 2
CALS CL 3
CALS CL 4
CALS CL 5
CALS CL 6
CALS CL 7
CALS CL 8
CALS CL 9
CALS CL 1
CALS CL 2
CALS CL 3
CALS CL 4
CALS CL 5
CALS CL 6
CALS CL 7
CALS CL 8
CALS CL 9

Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center

Little Rock, AR

Referred to as a “community-embedded, supportive learning center,” this library offers not only books, but also a performance space, a teaching kitchen, a greenhouse and vegetable garden, and an arboretum.

The Director of the Central Arkansas Library System’s challenge was to create a playground without equipment, where nature and imagination combine to create grand adventures on a six acre natural site in the heart of the capital city.

A charette held with children uncovered a surprising result:  their top desire wasn’t for the latest video games… they were concerned about food security – they wanted to learn how to feed themselves. Children also wanted a place that was uplifting, inspirational, and full of natural light, while feeling safe and secure. They wanted a place that “lifted expectations”.

The site became an education experience, emphasizing teaching hands-on skills, such as gardening and food preparation.  The architecture’s inspiration is based on the childhood memories of many Arkansans, growing up in rural areas where playgrounds were really fields, creeks, utilitarian structures such as barns, sheds, and the constructed forts built by their own hands – something inner-city kids rarely experience; children created their own adventures… The library acts as a large shed in the woods: its roof lifts to the sky as the site falls, sheltering spaces within while visually opening to the site’s restored ecosystem. The architecture speaks of sustainability (seeking LEED Gold) and the technical nature of construction, expressing all connections and systems, much like a child’s erector set.  The building is a teacher.

Awards

AIA/ALA National Library Building Award

American Architecture Award – Chicago Athenaeum

AISC IDEAS2 National Award for Excellence in Steel Construction

AIA Gulf States Region Award for Design Excellence

USGBC Arkansas Chapter, LEED Commercial Project Award

University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture Alumni Design Award

Arkansas AIA Honor Award

Arkansas AIA Members’ Choice Award

LEED Gold Rating USGBC

 

Press

AIA/ALA Library Building Award

ArchDaily

TechInsider

Architectural Products

Building Design + Construction

Modern Steel Construction

Share on Social

Categories

  • Civic, Libraries, Sustainability

Project Contact

Reese Rowland, FAIA
Principal
Little Rock

Related Projects

Opera in the Ozarks

Pinnacle Mountain State Park Visitor Center

Jacksonport State Park Visitors Center

CALS Main Library Renovation

UA Vol Walker Hall Renovation + Addition

U.S. Marshals Museum

National Cold War Center

Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts

Pine Bluff Main Library

Robinson Center Renovation & Expansion

Walton Arts Center Expansion & Renovation

UALR Student Services Center

Little Rock

801 South Spring Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 378-0878
pswarchitects@polkstanleywilcox.com

X-twitter Facebook Linkedin
Fayetteville

300 West Dickson Street
Fayetteville, AR 72701
(479) 444-0473

Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects
  • Portfolio
  • Accolades
  • News
  • Our Firm
  • Portfolio
  • Accolades
  • News
  • Our Firm