Design unveilled for new downtown Ottawa Public Library branch

Warm textures, natural light and a low ecological footprint are a few of the main focuses of the design of the new Ottawa Public Library-Library and Archives Canada (OPL-LAC).

The design was unveilled Thursday afternoon by municipal, provincial and federal government dignitaries, officials from the local library, as well as spokepeople from Diamond Schmitt Architects and KWC Architects.

The facility is expected to include a multi-purpose room, maker spaces, a cafe, a children's discovery area, an exhibition gallery, a genealogy centre and an Indigenous space, alongside typical areas you'd expect at a library such as reading spaces.