The Albuquerque and Bernalillo Counties announced the development of a library in the International District in 2007 to serve as an investment in the community. Public workshops provided a clear plan for not only a conventional library but also for a central hub for the local community.
PROJECT
More than twenty years in the making, the International District Library opened its doors on July 9, 2022, following over a decade of sustained community advocacy. The $16.5 million project is the 19th branch of the Public Library of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County — and the first public investment of this scale in one of Albuquerque's most densely populated and historically underserved neighborhoods.
The 25,000 SF building, designed by RMKM Architects, sits on Central Avenue — the historic alignment of U.S. Route 66 — on the former site of the Caravan East nightclub. Community workshops conducted over multiple years shaped every aspect of the program. The facility now serves over 30,000 residents of the International District — a neighborhood defined by its extraordinary diversity, with significant first-generation immigrant and small-business communities — providing access to books, technology, community meeting spaces, and social services that were previously unavailable at this scale.
PROJECT CHALLENGE
The International District Library program was unusually complex for a 25,000 SF building. The space encompasses a full-service public library, a children's area, a young adult room, two virtual reality computer stations, a demonstration kitchen, a community room with a wood dance floor seating 150, a Multi-Gen Activity Room, dedicated study rooms, clerestory windows, and skylights throughout. Each space has distinct acoustic, thermal, and air quality requirements.
Three design constraints defined the HVAC approach:
Acoustic performance. Libraries are among the most acoustically sensitive public spaces. Conventional overhead VAV systems — with their ductwork, diffusers, and terminal units — produce noise levels incompatible with a quiet library environment. Library designers aim for an NC (Noise Criterion) rating between NC-30 and NC-40.
Ceiling preservation. RMKM's design capitalized on natural light from both clerestory windows and skylights throughout. Any overhead HVAC distribution would have obscured these architectural features and required ceiling penetrations that conflicted with the design intent.
Curved perimeter geometry. Standard linear trench heaters and grilles are designed for straight-run installation — the design team needed curved custom units that could follow the wall contours precisely without visible gaps or misalignment.
After evaluating and ruling out drop ceilings and overhead systems, the project team engaged AirFixture to design a custom underfloor air distribution (UFAD) solution.
AIRFIXTURE SOLUTION
AirFixture delivered a fully custom UFAD system built around a raised access floor, providing the acoustic performance, ceiling clarity, and geometric flexibility the project required.
MIT3-CS Diffuser Terminals were strategically distributed throughout the 25,000 SF space, including isolated reading rooms, children's areas, and activity spaces. Each terminal delivers fresh, temperature-controlled air directly to the breathing zone — quietly, efficiently, and without the drafts or noise associated with overhead supply. At NC-17, the system operates below the background noise threshold.
CLWMIT Continuous Linear Hydronic Trench Heaters were installed along the perimeter of the building, creating a continuous thermal boundary that counteracts heat loss through the building envelope. These units were custom-manufactured by AirFixture at its Kansas City facility to match the curved geometry of the interior walls — including custom curved grilles designed to sit flush with the flooring and remain visually consistent with the surrounding design.
The raised access floor enabled AirFixture to route all electrical and data cabling beneath the floor as well — providing the flexibility and adaptability the library needed as its technology needs evolve, without requiring ceiling or wall penetrations.
Key system details:
- Acoustic rating: NC-17
- Perimeter system: CLWMIT hydronic trench heaters, custom curved lengths
- Core distribution: MIT3-CS variable volume diffusers
- Infrastructure: Raised access floor
- Mechanical approach: UFAD
RESULTS
The International District Library's opening was celebrated by Mayor Tim Keller and community leaders as a generational investment. Funding was assembled over many years from City General Obligation Bonds, State Capital Outlay, Bernalillo County Bonds, the Albuquerque Public Library Foundation, and a $1 million donation from the Freedman Trust.
The facility includes spaces that exist nowhere else in the Albuquerque library system: the first Multi-Generational Activity Room, two virtual reality computer stations (funded by the Albuquerque Community Foundation), a MakerSpace, a Demonstration Kitchen, a podcasting room, and an outdoor Story Plaza for community gatherings. The wood-floored Jewell Community Room — seating 150 — is available for dance instruction and cultural programming, directly honoring the site's history as a dance venue.
In the year following its opening, the library announced a major technology upgrade, giving users access to an expanded digital catalog and a new mobile app — the kind of adaptive programming that the raised access floor and flexible infrastructure were specifically designed to support.
