Following last week’s visit to Beijing-based OPEN Architecture, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to California this week, where we explore the work of Johnson Favaro.

Established in 1988, and based in Culver City, the planning and design firm has amassed a portfolio anchored by schools, libraries, community centers, and other cultural and civic typologies. Reflecting on their commitment to educational and cultural schemes, the firm believes that “high quality and inspiring architecture in support of the social infrastructure of which these institutions are a part is crucial in the advancement of our democracy and civil society.”

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring a Design Associate to join its Culver City office. For candidates interested in applying for the position, or anybody interested in learning more about the studio’s work, we have rounded up five completed libraries by Johnson Favaro that demonstrates their design approach.

Manhattan Beach Library, California

The two-story Manhattan Beach Library replaces a previous one-story facility, resulting in a building that offers twice the floor space of its predecessor despite occupying a smaller site footprint. Outside, a new open space adopts a gentle slope to create a modest amphitheater, while inside, the new complex includes a children’s library, teen center, community meeting room, and sections for adult collections, reading areas, and public access technology.

On the upper floor the scheme frames views of the Pacific Ocean, visible through an exterior envelope that features a double glass wall separated by an air cavity. The open space doubles as insulation and a return air pathway for mechanical systems, contributing to the library’s LEED Gold certification.

Costa Mesa Library, California

Commissioned as a branch of the County of Orange Public Library, the new Costa Mesa Library accommodates 22,500 square feet of facilities across two floors. The library forms part of a broader redevelopment of the surrounding Lion’s Park, which also features a large outdoor community events space, gardens, recreational areas, and a renovation of the old library which now serves as a community meeting center.

Outside, the new library seeks to echo the “flamboyant mid-20th century modernist architecture” optimized by projects such as the JFK TWA terminal. Inside, the building holds two community meeting rooms, a marketplace, and a friends-of-the-library bookstore, as well as a young adult library, a children's library, adult technology stations, and study rooms.

Riverside Main Library, California

The new two-story Riverside Main Library appears as a floating volume held 36 feet in the air on massive concrete piers. The building’s elevated form creates an 8,900-square-foot shaded outdoor public plaza beneath, hosting evening performances, weekly farmers markets, book fairs, and other community events. Also sitting beneath the suspended volume are a new city archive, community room, and bookstore.

Inside the elevated library volume, a sweeping vault runs through the building parallel to major north and south-facing windows. The main library floor sits under the vault holding a local history reading room with 100-year-old furnishings from the city’s Carnegie Library, as well as several glass-enclosed study rooms. The upper level holds an adult reading room and a collections area.

West Hollywood Library, California

Similar to the Costa Mesa Library, the three-level West Hollywood Library forms part of a wider park masterplan holding indoor and outdoor community facilities. The new library is designed as a “key civic asset” with views from its upper floors reaching the city and Hollywood Hills. The library’s architecture seeks to merge the “austerity of mid-century modernism of southern California” with the “flamboyancy of the Spanish baroque” that characterizes some of the state’s earliest buildings.

Inside, the 48,000-square-foot building holds reading lounges, integrated computer and technology areas, and group study rooms, as well as a career development center, special collections, children's library and theater, teen center, community meeting room, multi-purpose sloped floor meeting room, sidewalk cafe, bookstore, and TV station.

Beverly Hills Children’s Library, California

For their renovation of the Beverly Hills Children’s Library, Johnson Favaro sought to transform a dark, cluttered environment into a “light-filled, customer-oriented, friendly children's library.” Now completed, the children’s library forms part of the wider 90,000-square-foot renovation of the Beverly Hills Public Library.

The resulting 10,000-square-foot overhaul includes a new entry, circulation desk, central reading room, and children’s story-time theater. To overcome the space’s limited access to natural light, the scheme prioritized the use of light materials and carefully considered artificial lighting to create bright but pleasant interior spaces.

Meet Your Next Employer is one of a number of ongoing weekly series showcasing the opportunities available on our industry-leading job board. Our Job Highlights series looks at intriguing and topical employment opportunities currently available on Archinect Jobs, while our weekly roundups curate job opportunities by location, career level, and job description.