Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center is located in the heart of a degraded Little Rock community and has become a catalyst for progress and regenerative energy. Not only does the branch offer a place of learning in the traditional sense, but also looks to the future through it's environment forward design.
Existing site conditions such as urban surface storm water and topography drove the design concept. The site's new design is a micro-scale of Arkansas’ seven eco-regions: Ozark Highlands, Boston Mountains, Arkansas Valley, Ouachita Mountains, Crowley's Ridge, Mississippi Alluvial Plain, and South Central Plains. The site includes elements such as native hardwood trees from the Ozark Highlands to vegetation of the wetlands found in all areas of the state but most especially in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain along the Mississippi River, which are both planted and a part of the original site's conditions.
With the combined goals of education and storm water filtration, the design provides an enriching and immersive environment for the children allowing them to touch all corners of the state from their backyard. All while weaving lush flora and fauna into the fabric of Little Rock's heavily urban environment.
The site design also encourages these two to intermingle by providing multiple locations to accommodate outdoor class instruction where a full time Environmental Educator oversees programs that teach the proper use of water, energy, and resources and how the site continues stay healthy with the help of those that care for it. Other places on the campus that the environemtn intermingles with education include a teaching garden, greenhouse, and demonstration kitchen.
Award of Honor from American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Central States
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