This building is for the birds: Rockford Public Library’s ‘glass box’ has bird safety features

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Architects call it the “glass box.”

The curtain wall of windows roughly 50-feet tall on the south side of the future Rockford Public Library main branch will offer stunning views of the Rock River, soak in plenty of natural light and – without the proper precautions – be a hazard for birds.

“Birds don’t see glass. To them it looks like sky because the sky is reflecting in the glass,” said Jennifer Kuroda, president of the Sinnissippi Audubon Society.

Architects have taken that into account in their design of the library, which will have fritted glass on a portion of the windows. The system serves several purposes for the library by reducing glare, providing thermal efficiency and protecting wildlife, said Erin O’Keefe, an architect with Studio GWA, the architect of record for the new library.

“It will not look like a clear path to birds, but from the interior and exterior of the building, if you’re not right on top of it, you’ll still be able to have clear views in and out,” O’Keefe said. “Your eyes trick themselves into not seeing the frit.”

Related: ‘A dramatic presence on the river’: Library breaks ground on new main branch

Every year millions of birds are killed in collisions with buildings and windows, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This year, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Bird Safe Buildings Act into law, which requires bird-friendly design when state-owned buildings are constructed or renovated.

The bird-friendly glass holds particular importance along the Rock River, where fowl travel along or use the waterway. The library is also across the river from the Rockford Register Star News Tower, where peregrine falcons have nested each spring since 2018. The birds of prey were federally endangered until 1999 and on Illinois’ endangered list until 2014.

“It’s important that they put appropriate glass in that building, otherwise they’re going to have a lot of bird strikes, especially with young juvenile falcons learning to fly in that area and hunt,” Kuroda said.

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The large wall of windows was part of the library’s goal to increase visibility in and out of the library to help connect it to the city and the river, O’Keefe said. She said Lynn Stainbrook, the library’s executive director, kept pushing for more glass.

“We’re pushing the envelope on the envelope design,” O’Keefe said. “I don’t think that there would be any worry about lack of glass in this building.”

The “glass box” also has shading to draw down for sunny days.

“The library has some great lighting around that glass box,” O’Keefe said. “Hopefully it will be very visible at night as a very glowing element as well.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.