City Hall & Public Library
The City of Buda Municipal Complex fosters community connection through several significant buildings: a gorgeous library and city hall, a public safety facility that houses the Buda Police Department, and a parks maintenance building for city staff. In each, Page carefully considered every detail and desirable amenity to make all residents feel welcome.
The crown jewel is the 55,000-square-foot citizen-focused City Hall and Library Building, which creates a central hub for Buda civic life and lays the foundation for continued community growth. It also houses city administrative offices, City Council Chambers, the Economic Development Corporation, and much-needed meeting space. The facility’s design offers a sense of transparency to encourage residents to observe, participate, and engage in the processes that shape their evolving city.
Awards
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12019 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Austin Impact Award
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22019 Urban Land Institute “Best Public Place Award”
Landscape architecture
This nine-acre site—rich in longhorn ranching heritage, soaring oak trees, and vibrant wildflowers—sits beside Stagecoach Park, seamlessly blending history and nature. The building placement prioritizes preserving the heritage oaks while integrating a landscape that manages stormwater flow with naturalized systems. This site is a living, breathing place that reflects the spirit of its environment and the people who call it home.
Public library
The central circulation desk is positioned for clear sightlines to the library’s main entrance, each specialty room, and down the stacks. Supplemental mobile staff stations ensure librarians can assist patrons throughout the space.
The central library is a highly flexible, open-planned environment designed to evolve with the changing needs of Buda's citizens. The new building allowed the city to quadruple its physical collection and offer a wide variety of special gathering areas and digital resources. These zones transition from the bustling activity spaces near the entrance to quieter study and reading nooks in the center. Throughout the library, soft light and wood accents create a calming ambiance.
As a Family Place Library, the director wanted a unique space to support early child development and provide parent education. This community service has become one of the most popular features, with soft seating, a functional play area, and plenty of board books for the youngest visitors. Public meeting rooms, Family Place, a maker lab, a craft room, the children’s storytime room, and the teen reading section are all near the entrance for easy access.
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Graphics developed to document program concepts and details.
Programming
During initial site master planning, we facilitated a series of meetings with City Council, the public, and city staff to refine a preliminary program and align it with Buda’s goals of transparent governance, exceptional customer service, and the creation of space for citizens to gather. The process established the key overall planning concept of a centralized public lobby connecting administrative office areas with the public library. Graphic space diagrams, shared in a design-thinking-inspired early deliverable, helped build alignment and captured the project's shared direction.
Graphics developed to document program concepts and details.
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