El Centro Library

Work on a new $17 million library on a new site began in 2017, after voters approved the project. The library, which is now open, provides the community with distinct children’s, teen, and adult spaces; a community room that can seat 200 people; craft areas; study rooms; and a “Friends of the Library” bookstore. Latitude 33 is pleased to have provided civil engineering services for the new library.

• Location: El Centro, CA
• Client/Team: Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects
• Fun Fact: The project also included design elements that pay homage to the city and region’s topography. Some of the facility’s walls are constructed of “rammed earth,” which uses compressed raw materials to achieve an earthen look. In the library’s case, it is deployed to mimic the appearance of the canyon walls of the Painted Gorge area near Ocotillo.