Hennepin County, Westonka Library

Overview

Opportunity

Solution

Impact

Team

As Hennepin County’s first ground-up, net-zero library, the new Westonka Library reimagines the learning experience as a journey from main street to nature, fostering a deeper connection to environmental stewardship.

Location

Mound, Minnesota

Client

Hennepin County

Expertise

Culture & Museums Government & Defense Climate Action & Sustainability Brand Design

Opportunity

Hennepin County wanted a library that could meet ambitious climate goals while staying deeply accessible and rooted in community life.

Set on a small-town main street beside a natural landscape, Westonka Library carried a layered challenge: deliver Hennepin County’s first ground-up, net-zero library while creating a civic space that felt intuitive and inclusive. The building needed to support story time, workshops, quiet reading, environmental learning, and daily community rituals, all within a compact, single-story footprint. It also had to respond to Minnesota’s climate and make sustainability visible without making the experience feel technical or institutional.

Why This Matters

01
Civic Climate Leadership
As Hennepin County’s first ground-up, net-zero library, Westonka shows how public investment can model practical, visible climate action for future community buildings.
02
Belonging by Design
Sensory-sensitive features, flexible rooms, intuitive circulation, and natural light create a civic environment that supports people across ages, abilities, and access needs.
03
Learning Beyond Books
Merging library programming with ecology, landscape, and building performance, Westonka expands what public learning can look like in daily community life.

This will be a space that reflects the values of this community: curiosity, inclusion, and resilience.

Solution

The design turns the library into a quiet passage through landscape, using timber, daylight, and section to connect town, people, and ecology.

The core design move was to treat the building as a transition rather than a destination. Its sloped site informed a sequence from sidewalk to porch to reading room to native landscape, creating a gradual shift from the built world into nature. Laminated wood and salvaged glulam beams echo surrounding trees and preserve memory of the original library. Clerestory light, framed views, sensory-sensitive design, and flexible gathering spaces make the experience restorative, accessible, and connected to place.

From brief to build: the team turned climate ambition into a library that feels effortless, welcoming, and deeply place-based.

Design decisions balanced community input, site constraints, embodied carbon, and long-term operations from the outset. Energy modeling shaped the envelope, including high-performing wall and roof assemblies, while passive strategies reduced demand before active systems were introduced. Timber structure, salvaged glulam members, local sourcing, bird-safe glazing, geothermal wells, photovoltaics, green roof detention, and stormwater gardens were coordinated as one connected strategy. The result is a building where sustainability is expressed through form, landscape, and everyday experience.

Rooted in Place

Regional ecology and history informed material selections, landscape strategies, and a sustainability approach grounded in local context.

Impact

Westonka proves that high-performance civic buildings can be warm and quietly transformative, advancing climate responsibility through everyday public life.

The result is a restorative, inclusive civic space where net-zero performance and environmental learning reinforce one another.

What Changed Because of This

01
Library Experience
Visitors move through a intuitive sequence of porches, daylight, timber, and views that supports discovery and belonging.
02
Environmental Performance
Passive design, geothermal systems, photovoltaics, and full electrification help the building operate without fossil fuels while reducing long-term energy demand.
03
Community Stewardship
Native plantings, stormwater gardens, and environmental programming turn the library into a living learning tool for climate literacy and local care.

Recognition

01

Architectural Record

Coverage highlighted Gensler’s product sustainability standards and the firm’s leadership in materials transparency, low-carbon product selection, and scalable sustainability practices across projects worldwide.

02

SBN Detroit

Gensler sustainability leader Najahyia Chinchilla discussed strategies shaping the future of low-carbon urban development, from mass timber to adaptive reuse.

Team

Project Leadership

Bill Baxley

Bill is a Design Principal in Gensler’s Minneapolis office whose work sits at the intersection of architecture, civic leadership, and urban transformation. He partners with public agencies, institutions, and communities to create places that strengthen cities and generate lasting social and economic impact.

[FPO] Jessie Bauldry

Placeholder for office leadership name "Jessie Bauldry" — no matching pagePeople yet. "pnpm migrate resolve-stubs" swaps this for the real page once it exists.

[FPO] Reid Ziolkowski

Placeholder for office leadership name "Reid Ziolkowski" — no matching pagePeople yet. "pnpm migrate resolve-stubs" swaps this for the real page once it exists.

[FPO] Jeff Walz

Placeholder for office leadership name "Jeff Walz" — no matching pagePeople yet. "pnpm migrate resolve-stubs" swaps this for the real page once it exists.

FAQ

01

What makes Westonka Library a net-zero civic space?

The building combines passive design, geothermal systems, rooftop photovoltaics, and full electrification to operate without fossil fuels.

02

How does the library design support community well-being?

The design uses natural light, warm timber, flexible rooms, sensory-sensitive features, and strong landscape connections to create a welcoming civic environment.

03

How does Westonka Library connect people to nature?

A sequenced path, framed views, clerestory daylight, native gardens, and outdoor stormwater landscapes connect visitors to Minnesota’s seasonal ecology.

04

What sustainable materials were used in Westonka Library?

The project incorporates laminated wood, salvaged glulam beams, locally sourced primary materials, and zinc cladding with high-recycled content.

05

Why is Westonka Library important for civic design?

The project demonstrates how public buildings can advance climate goals, community access, environmental education, and inclusive design at once.

Related Work

project

Pillsbury Creative Commons

Pillsbury Creative Commons expands a neighborhood arts institution into a community-powered hub for artistic expression, workforce training, storytelling, and belonging.

project

Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal Wellness Center

The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal Wellness Center brings health, culture, movement, and community together in a Dakota-grounded destination for intergenerational wellbeing.

project

Northside Forward

Northside Forward is a 10-year roadmap created with North Minneapolis residents to shape inclusive growth, strengthen community prosperity, and guide future investment.

project

Loffler Companies

Loffler’s headquarters transforms a former big-box retail shell into a bright, flexible workplace that unites people, operations, wellness, and community.

project

[FPO] Kaleideum

Placeholder — not migrated yet.

Related Expertise

Culture & Museums Government & Defense Climate Action & Sustainability Brand Design

As Hennepin County’s first ground-up, net-zero library, the new Westonka Library reimagines the learning experience as a journey from main street to nature, fostering a deeper connection to environmental stewardship.

Hennepin County wanted a library that could meet ambitious climate goals while staying deeply accessible and rooted in community life.

Why This Matters

The design turns the library into a quiet passage through landscape, using timber, daylight, and section to connect town, people, and ecology.

From brief to build: the team turned climate ambition into a library that feels effortless, welcoming, and deeply place-based.

Westonka proves that high-performance civic buildings can be warm and quietly transformative, advancing climate responsibility through everyday public life.

What Changed Because of This