Viridian is the color between green and cyan on the color wheel and comes from the Latin viridis (‘green’). Many associate green with a verdant garden, and cyan (blue) with the sky. Most simply, these two elements are the design informants of this library/event center. The building poses a long transparent face along the edge of the city’s park, allowing library and event patrons to feel connected to the most significant green space of the community. Connections to the sky occur via three ‘light boxes’ – basically, incisions through the center of the building, from roof to ground level, that reflect and bounce sunlight to internal spaces. Energy saving utilities, environmentally responsible building methods and materials plus the use of native and locally adaptive landscape plants add up to an outstanding LEED (Leadership in Energy and Energy Efficient Design) building certification. The 70,000 square foot facility uniquely combines a community event component with a library and headquarters for the administrative offices and data center of Salt Lake County Library Services. Geographically, the building is at the center of the Salt Lake Valley ??? the hub of library services to county residents. An alliance with West Jordan City contributed to the Viridian’s development on this site. The library’s vision is that the written word is a community-builder that can be extended into the spoken and performed word. The Viridian Event Center is designed to open to the outdoor amphitheater, linking outside and inside performances, presentations and activities.