The city of Viroqua seeks to expand its existing public library services while extending its offerings to additional programs and services.  As a result, and in light of generous community funding, a new and significantly larger public library is envisioned to be erected, which will now physically connect the Library to the Western Technical College (WTC).  The intent is for this new Library to focus on bridging public access to additional social amenities and educational venues flexible enough to accommodate the town’s long-term needs.

The richness of the region, along with the various programmatic needs for the facility has influenced our solution.  This region is known as the Driftless or lack of glacial drift area.  It’s a region characterized by an eroded plateau with bedrock overlain by varying thicknesses of loess.  This region has elevations ranging from 603 to 1,719 feet with diagonal and deeply dissected river valleys.  As it relates to the programmatic needs, the building needed to include all public library program elements, as well as a senior/community center, a public information center and a public commons lounge.  Our conceptual position is an exercise in the expansion of a library’s meaning and an exploration of the reinterpretation and enhanced ideology of what defines a public library, as well as its image within the civic realm of Viroqua.