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A Library Redesigned For Learning, Collaboration, and Community

Location: Redlands, CA
Year Complete: 2024
Location: Irvine, CA
Year Complete: 2025
KI-58
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Redlands, CA, Library Building

 

Moore Middle School’s library was doing four jobs: media center, classroom, project gallery, and book-fair venue. But it was designed for one. By removing static furniture and introducing mobile solutions, we unlocked the space’s potential to serve learning, collaboration, and community all at once.

The Vision

Every school library tells a story about how it's meant to be used. Moore's story was written into fixed bookcases, assigned seating, and shelving that consumed 40% of the floor while serving only a single use case. The librarian needed four.

Before any solution was proposed, we asked the librarian to walk us through a typical week. What actually gets used? What gets shoved aside? What would make life easier? From there, the vision became clear: the fixed shelving made every transition between uses a physical negotiation. Setting up for a book fair meant moving furniture that wasn't designed to move. Running a small-group project session meant improvising around equipment built for passive storage.

Working alongside the librarian and the facilities team, we identified 8 floor-to-ceiling bookcases that were taking up valuable space while holding less than 30% of the collection. Removing stationary furniture, which was optimized solely for storage, freed up 35% of the floor and created more breathing room for flexibility, collaboration, and choice.

Color and material reinforced the intent. The warm wood tones of the remaining shelving were balanced against the soft blues of the collaborative seating, making the room more inviting and grounded.

Scope of Work

  • Mobile book displays on casters (reconfigurable in 2 minutes)
  • Flip-top collaborative tables with lock-wheel bases for quick transitions between configurations
  • Soft seating clusters with height-appropriate round tables, creating quiet reading zones without fixed walls
  • Storage ottomans serving as accessible storage and informal seating
  • Removal and relocation of stationary furniture coordinated through the facilities partnership
  • Space planning to create distinct functional zones within one flexible room

bluespace interiors partnered with Moore Middle School to deliver a solution-centric approach that prioritized the librarian's expertise and the facilities team's operational knowledge. Every specification decision was tested against the same criteria the design was built on: does this make the librarian's job easier, or harder? Does it serve as an adaptable space for learning, collaboration, and community?

Mobile solutions were specified to allow multiple configurations within minutes, not hours. Height-adjustable and modular pieces accommodated different uses without requiring permanent fixtures. Soft seating created islands of comfort for quiet reading while flip-tops enabled group work. Storage became visible and accessible, eliminating the need for hidden deep shelving.  

Project Management

bluespace interiors managed the project from space planning through installation, coordinating with the librarian, facilities team, and procurement to ensure smooth delivery. The key wasn't selling furniture. It was solving a staffing and scheduling problem first, then specifying solutions that matched.

Moore Middle School's library now runs four programs from one room. The same square footage that once required constant physical negotiation now transitions between configurations in minutes. No new construction. No separate spaces. A staffing and scheduling problem, resolved through deliberate furniture selection.

What Moore needed wasn't a renovation, but permission to use one room multiple ways and furniture that could keep up with those changes.

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