Peninsula College Library

Brick veneer clads the building’s weather-exposed walls while deep roof eaves protect its entry and more vulnerable elements.

The interior reading room is well illuminated with natural lights via its glass curtain-wall system.

Port Angeles, Washington 
Client: Schacht-Aslani Architects
Dates of Service: 2006-2007

Project Summary: To help resist the Olympic Peninsula’s perpetually wet climate, the design of this new college library building incorporated deep roof overhangs to shelter its more vulnerable elements, such as doors and windows, while using a durable, well-designed brick veneer cladding in its more weather-exposed portions.  Its structure, comprised of cast-in-place concrete and steel framing, was clothed in brick veneer, concrete, a glass curtain-wall system, a heat-welded single-ply roof, and a vented, pressure-equalized manufactured cladding system.     

PL:BECS Services: PL:BECS provided selective guidance to Schacht-Aslani Architects during the building’s conception.  Design assistance pertained to both the exterior assemblies as well as for specific exterior detailing conditions.  

A heat-welded single-ply roofing system was used, both for cost-efficiency as well as to address the building’s complex roof geometries and challenging details, where thicker membrane systems would prove more vulnerable by virtue of installation difficulties. 

A properly-designed, durable brick veneer cladding system shelters the building’s weather-exposed walls, while wide roof overhangs were placed over the manufactured wood-resin wall-panel system to limit the effects of weathering.  

Ample natural light is introduced into the library’s interior via an extruded-aluminum curtain-wall glazing system, which is afforded added weather-protection with projecting roof eaves.