Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Nighttime view of the front of the building.

It has been over a year and a half since DC Public Library (DCPL) selected a team to renovate the system's 43-year-old central library. DCPL has been steadily releasing images of the redesign by Dutch firm Mecanoo and D.C.'s own Martinez+Johnson Architecture, and the questions about the unillustrated spaces are gradually being answered. On Wednesday, DCPL released another batch of renderings of the renovated black steel and glass Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, which was originally designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and opened in 1972. These latest renderings show revisions of spaces we've already seen: the main entrance vestibule, the first-floor performance space, the café, the staircases, the children's room, the fabrication lab, and the auditorium. But there are also renderings of spaces not yet illustrated: a below-grade creative audio visual space, a remaking of the Digital Commons, a teen area, the Center for Accessibility, space for community alliances, a double-height Grand Reading Room, and special collections.

Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Exterior view of Digital Commons.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Main entrance.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Entrance vestibule.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Southeast corner.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Welcome to Washington center.
A revamped staircase with glass replacing the core
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Public stairs east of the main entrance vestibule.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Great Hall with view of informal performance space.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Informal performance space on the first floor.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Another concept for the first floor performance space.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library View of Digital Commons from Great Hall.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Digital Commons and pod meeting space.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library View of below-grade fabrication lab from Digital Commons.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Staircase from ground floor to below-grade level.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Below-grade creative audio visual space.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Below-grade fabrication lab.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Café on first floor.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Another view of first-floor café.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Patio on northeast corner next to café.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library View of patio and driveway from 9th Street.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Another view of patio and driveway at 9th Street and G Place.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Children's area on the second floor.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Another view of children's area.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Staircase and slide in children's area.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Teen area on second floor.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Center for Accessibility on second floor.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Community alliances space on second floor.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Grand Reading Room in the third floor's east wing.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Special collections space on the fourth floor, with overlook to Grand Reading Room on the third floor.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library View of auditorium from fifth floor.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Auditorium.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Interior of auditorium.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library View of roof garden.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library View of library with roof addition from southeast corner.
Mecanoo/Martinez+Johnson Architecture/DC Public Library Section.

Visit ARCHITECT's Project Gallery for more information and images of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library renovation.