Needham Library Space Utilization Study

Utile worked with the Town of Needham to develop a framework identifying opportunities for the only library in the town to evolve to meet the needs of the community without expanding the building’s footprint. The seven month long study began with an online survey and small group engagement sessions with library patrons, staff, and the broader community. Schemes were developed to address the feedback, while maintaining the overall footprint, mechanical services, collection counts, and library program priorities. Utile’s scope included gathering and summarizing community input for consideration. The study tested multiple space layout configurations, ultimately distilled to four key projects identified for localized improvements over the course of multiple summers, each with a cost estimate to support the city in their capital project planning process. The final report outlines the areas of improvement, recommendations on acoustics and daylighting strategies, cost of the work per phase, as well as suggested sequencing to ensure the library remains operational throughout the construction periods.