Library renovation design wins award

The renovation and expansion of the Main Library of the Columbus Metropolitan Library has won this year’s Columbus Landmarks’ James B. Recchie Design Award.

It’s the 30th time for the award, named for James B. Recchie, a founding trustee of Columbus Landmarks.

The work on the library at 96 S. Grant Ave. was designed by Schooley Caldwell and GUND Partnership and the landscape was designed by MKSK.

One key reason the jury chose the library work for the award was because it connects the library to both Downtown to the west and Topiary Park to the east, The Columbus Metropolitan Main Library has undergone a $35 million renovation and expansion. On Thursday, it was given Columbus Landmarks’ James B. Recchie Design Award. said Nancy Recchie, historic preservation consultant with Benjamin D. Rickey & Co. and sister of the award’s namesake.

“It really takes advantage of this incredible site,” Recchie said. “It also has an openness, a certain elegance. It’s carefully curated.

“The idea is that it’s not an inward-looking building. When you’re inside, you’re part of a great city,” she said.

The main library was built in 1907. This latest renovation, finished in 2016, cost $35 million.

This is the fourth time the library system has received the award. It previously won for the main library expansion in 1991, the Driving Park branch at 1422 E. Livingston Ave. in 2015 and the North Side branch at 1423 N. High St. in 2018.

The four other finalists were the National Veterans Memorial & Museum, Columbus’ Michael B. Coleman Government Center, Ohio State University’s Pomerene Hall and The View on Grant apartments Downtown.