Library presents renovation options for Noble branch

Rick Ortmeyer of Bostick Design Partnership presents preliminary design ideas for the Noble Neighborhood Branch renovation.

On Wednesday, Sept. 8, Heights Libraries held an open house at its Noble Neighborhood Branch to present rough renovation ideas for the 84-year-old location. A crowd of approximately 30 residents watched a presentation by Rick Ortmeyer from Bostick Design Partnership, the firm hired by the library to create preliminary designs and conduct public meetings to gather feedback on those ideas. 

“Rick’s firm has lots of experience designing libraries, and a great track record on effectively gathering and using public feedback in building designs," said Heights Libraries Director Nancy Levin. "So we knew they’d do a great job with these first, broad steps.” 

Ortmeyer’s presentation included several options for increasing space for library users of all ages by building an expansion where the Noble Road Presbyterian Church building and surrounding 1.3 acres of property currently stand. The library purchased the church building and property in March, for $315,000.

After the presentation, attendees were invited to examine and respond to 16 posters featuring possible indoor and outdoor design concepts, such as outdoor event and reading spaces, larger indoor workspaces with computers, more natural light, and reading nooks for teens and school-age kids. Attendees were encouraged to put red stickers on ideas they didn’t like, and green stickers on ideas they did like. They also were encouraged to write down more-nuanced feedback on sticky notes. 

“The primary intent was to spark dialogue around topics and ideas to inform the future design,” said Ortmeyer. “It’s less about a thumbs up or thumbs down on the pictures themselves.” 

Those who were unable to attend the open house still have time to examine the conceptual images and give feedback. The physical posters are at the Noble Neighborhood Branch, 2800 Noble Road, and can be studied anytime the library is open. The poster images and Ortmeyer’s presentation are available on the Heights Libraries website at https://heightslibrary.org/noble-branch-renovation-project

All public input will be examined and quantified, and will inform the next stage of the renovation. The library expects to put out a request for proposals for the design project in early 2022.

Sheryl Banks

Sheryl Banks is the communications manager for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library System.

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Volume 14, Issue 10, Posted 12:19 PM, 10.01.2021