LADUE, MO. — ICS Construction Services Ltd. has completed the Clark Family Branch Library for the St. Louis County Library (SLCL) district. Lamar Johnson Collaborative (LJC) was the project architect. Located at 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd. in the inner-ring suburb of Ladue, the two-story building totals more than 78,000 square feet and stands as the largest branch in the SLCL system. The design emphasizes open, flexible spaces with high ceilings and natural light. The Clark Family Branch is the final branch to be designed as part of SLCL’s system-wide “Your Library Renewed” program.
In addition to providing traditional reading, private study spaces and quick access to collections, the library features various meeting and event spaces, age-specific areas for creative and hands-on learning experiences and diverse community-based services. The Stephany and Richard Kniep Children’s Space features a playhouse, built-in reading nooks, a magnetic gear wall and educational touch-screen games. The Unity Foundation Teen Space provides tech-focused amenities such as the Object Computing creative lab with a 3-D printer, audio recording studio, video recording studio and video game room.
The 800-seat multipurpose Post Event Space & Plaza offers multiple room configurations to support author events and programs. The Emerson History & Genealogy Center offers family research stations, a memory lab for recording oral histories and equipment for digitizing old photos and other media. The small business center provides resources to support current and aspiring entrepreneurs.
The building’s design also features access to outdoor spaces, including a walking path, reading garden and second-level balcony designed to support library programming.
The branch programming and design was enhanced through a $6 million donation to the St. Louis County Library and the St. Louis County Library Foundation from the Bob Clark Family, founder and executive chairman of Clayco. LJC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Clayco.
The Clark Family Branch replaces a previous facility that for over 60 years combined library branch operations and the district’s headquarters together. An operational decision was made to consolidate branch library functions within the Clark Family Branch and move administrative functions to a new building, also designed by LJC, and located in the neighboring suburb of Frontenac.