Meet the Architect for the New Library

Louis Cherry

Architect Louis Cherry introduced himself to the Chatham County commissioners with a vision provided by the ancient Roman statesman Cicero: “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” 

It’s a vision that Cherry hopes to make come true for the county. The selection committee chose him last month to design and build a new, $5.1 million library on the campus of Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro. 

“It’s a wonderful, pastoral setting,” Cherry said, one that can provide both indoor and outdoor learning opportunities and a chance to showcase local artists and artisans. 

Louis Cherry is a partner in Cherry Huffman Architects, a Raleigh firm specializing in civic projects and sustainable buildings, chosen from six applicants to build both the new library and a classroom building at the college. The library is an unusual collaboration that will serve both as the Chatham County headquarters library and as the library for the Pittsboro branch of Central Carolina Community College. 

He said that the design for the Chatham library will strive to balance the durability needed in a building that will get such heavy public use with the need to create “place of great comfort and attraction to the public…A public building has a higher imperative to provide a sense of place. It’s what gives life to a community, a place where the community comes together.” 

The new library will also be a “green” building designed to be as energy-efficient as possible, following the standards established by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program (LEED). 

“We want to be as energy-saving as we can get that’s economically viable,” Commissioner George Lucier told Cherry. 

“We want to be on the cutting edge,” agreed Commissioner Tom Vanderbeck. “We want to be quite the example, for the county, in the state, and maybe nationally.” 

Cherry praised the amount of community input that has gone into the library project and said that his firm wants to “continue this collaboration with the public.”

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From Renee Paschal, Assistant County Manager

"An email I received asked if libraries have a role to play in the 21st century? Although this question is not up to me to answer, I see the role of public libraries becoming more vital. As information is increasingly our most important commodity, public libraries help insure access for all people.  The county commissioners have said yes (by setting aside $5.1 million), the CCCC trustees have said yes (by agreeing to provide the land), hundreds of Chatham residents have said yes (by describing what they want in the new facility though surveys and charettes), the Friends have said yes (by launching their largest fundraising campaign to date)."

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