Holst Turns a Gresham Parking Lot Into a 95,000-Square-Foot Timber Library

A 95,000-square-foot library opened in May 2026 on a former parking lot in Gresham, Oregon. Holst Architecture led the design of East County Library, collaborating with Adjaye Associates through the design development phase. The building serves eastern Multnomah County, where more than 40 percent of county residents live east of Interstate 205 — an area that previously had the library system's smallest footprint.

Timber columns rise through gaps in the acoustic ceiling, kept visually separate from the surrounding surfaces. Holst designed this detail to suggest tree trunks reaching toward a canopy. The forest reference is built into the architecture rather than applied afterward as a decorative theme.

How does the structure work?

Glulam beams (engineered wood beams made from bonded lumber layers) and cross-laminated timber panels form the primary structural system. Double-height entrances and a central living room establish larger clearings within the column grid. Holst paired overhead beams and introduced recessed lines in the timber to give the ceiling depth and rhythm.

These choices make the forest analogy legible through construction, without requiring literal representations of branches or leaves.

The building isn't exclusively timber. Concrete shear walls around the auditorium and along the eastern side provide structural support, with concrete also used around acoustically sensitive spaces. The material palette responds to different demands rather than treating exposed wood as the answer to every problem.

What does the site change for transit users?

The project replaces an underused parking lot with a public destination connected to transit. A tree-lined pedestrian route links the MAX light rail stop and northern civic space to a terraced entrance plaza on Division Street. That arrangement makes the approach part of the project, giving pedestrians a defined route between transportation and the library's entrances.

How does the plan organize noise and quiet?

Holst organizes the layout from active spaces on the west toward focused reading and work areas on the east. The program includes:

• Entrances, creative activities and children's play on the busier western edge
• Collections and specialized rooms toward the center
• Window-lined seating as a quieter eastern destination

The layout acknowledges that a contemporary library needs room for conversation and concentration. An audiovisual studio, a creative learning room, indoor and enclosed outdoor children's spaces, and a rooftop terrace round out the brief.

Two sensory rooms — one oriented toward children, another toward adults — offer adjustable lighting and different ways to engage or withdraw. Community consultation helped shape these provisions, giving the expansive program specific places to land.

What about sustainability?

Radiant flooring and rooftop solar panels accompany a LEED Gold target, which the source notes is a goal, not a confirmed certification. Beyond those systems, the project's central architectural decision is spatial: a large civic building makes room for different levels of participation, including the simple wish to sit quietly with a book.