Town of Stony Plain Library: Building a community through stories and history

About 25 kilometres west of Edmonton lies the town of Stony Plain. Known for its rich western history, the town has grown to a population of 18,000 people.

The town’s small library was running out of space, and staff were no longer able to create sufficient community programming to meet growing demand. The town purchased the main floor of a seven-storey mixed-use senior living project on Main Street, the new library had found a home.

Kasian was engaged to support the vision for a new, intuitive library space.

Our challenge was to create a space centered around the library’s four core values: community presence, creative catalyst, flexible environment, and culture centre. We worked with multiple stakeholders to design a library that functioned as a flexible, versatile, and adaptive community hub that acknowledges the rich history and heritage of the Treaty 6 Indigenous communities.

Approaching this project from a place of humble inquiry and grass roots, we incorporated a sense of empathy for the town’s specific needs, culture, and history.

Design drivers developed in the sessions include safety, gathering space, intuition, coziness, diversity and inclusion and a comfortable home away from home. Library staff requested low curvilinear bookshelves to keep sight lines open and introduced us to local furniture vendors. Through collaboration, we created storyboards and visuals with customized tailored solutions.

We designed a diverse mix of quiet areas for focused reading with open collaborative spaces conducive to information sharing around the library. The new space incorporates flexibility in design supported by modular furniture, which will allow the library to evolve, grow, and adapt to the changing market. Natural light, attractive colours, and warm textures flow through the space.

A low ceiling area due to underground parkade access is designed as a cozy nook for children, with large steps and seating to curl up and learn. A wooden train from the old library is one of the key centerpieces of the new space and serves as a reminder of the facility’s history.

Cultural heritage is celebrated in new and unique ways, including the display of art and Traditional Medicine Wheels of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, Alexander Cree, Enoch Cree, and Paul First Nation at the library’s entrance.

The library now serves as a key gathering place for the people of Stony Plain, while reinforcing the town’s Main Street and preserving cultural history. Users hold events, learn, gather, and reinforce relationships in the new space.

To celebrate the gratitude and respect for the land and culture of Treaty 6, Elders performed a blessing at the opening of the library. The library is actively committed to expanding their Indigenous programming.

“Whether you’re 13 or 93, the Stony Plain library has spaces where all can feel comfortable being adjacent to each other, while not being disruptive, but engaging in conversation, so each could educate and learn from each other through their stories.” – Dean Benvenuto, Principal