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Pratt City Library

LOCATION: Birmingham, AL
CLIENT CONTACT: City of Birmingham
CONSTRUCTION FIRM: Monumental Contracting Services, LLC
DATE OF COMPLETION: December 2013
COST: 1,500,000
Line Scale Form and Chasm Architecture LLC as associate

The Pratt City Library was a hub of social, academic, and community affairs of this northwest Birmingham neighborhood.  Severely damaged in the April 2011 tornadoes, the building renovation provides a new symbol of hope, recovery, and progress, and a “living room for the community”.  The design gleans much of the former library’s exterior and reconstructs the primary reading room as a glass “lantern” overseeing the neighborhood.  The lantern symbolizes the light of knowledge, while evoking the coal mining heritage of the neighborhood.  The facility incorporates multiple museum-quality displays of historic artifacts, and features a tornado safe room.