CohenLeigh Architects designed the Cobram Library & Learning Centre located in Cobram, Australia.

The Cobram Library & Learning Centre is a distinctively ‘local’ library, embracing emerging technologies & promoting flexible learning & library spaces across all ages.

How do you create a distinctively ‘local’ library?

Working closely with community stakeholders, the design process involved tracing the line of the nearby Murray River, then superimposing this as the cut line on a curvilinear timber battened screen.

The result is a dynamic façade that wraps the perimeter of the library, filtering & throwing light into the internal library spaces. A central pathway & ceiling element, acting as a way-finding spine, runs through the centre of the library space. At its edges, a series of abstract punctuations on the perimeter allow for private & flexible break out spaces. The effect is a community space both highly flexible & adaptable.

Located on the site of the existing Civic Centre, it encompasses library spaces, reading spaces, community spaces & new technology areas. Conscious of its place & identity, it embodies and celebrates the idea of a ‘local’ library, with design language that is evocative of the popular Murray landscapes.

Architect: CohenLeigh Architects
Photography: Tom Blachford