Glass lights up St. Cloud library, inside and out

“The St. Cloud Public Library takes the traditional elements of a library and brings them up-to-date with contemporary systems and unique features, is also a vital piece of the revitalized downtown.”— Kirsty Smith, director for the Great River Regional Library, St. Cloud, Minn.

The basics: The St. Cloud (Minn.) Public Library features a sweeping unitized curtain wall with asymmetrical glass, and ample interior glazing, including glass walls, railings, doors and elevator enclosures. The exterior features 26,000 square feet of glass, and the interior, 10,000 square feet.

The players: Architects, MS&R Ltd., Minneapolis, GLTA Architects, St. Cloud, Minn.; general contractor, W. Gohman Construction, St. Cloud; glazing contractor, Empirehouse Inc., Mounds View, Minn.; exterior glass fabricator, Viracon, Owatonna, Minn.; interior glass suppliers, Oldcastle Glass, Santa Monica, Calif., InKan Ltd., Toronto; curtainwall system supplier, Efco Corp., Monett, Mo.

The glass: The exterior features three types of glass: Viracon VE1-52, VE1-52 with an Arctic Snow frit and VE1-52 with V175 high-opacity white spandrel. The exterior framing system includes the Efco 5900 curtain wall system and Efco 960 storefront system. The interior features ½-inch and 5/8-inch clear tempered glass.