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ImaginOn was conceived as more than a library next to a theater. The Charlotte, North Carolina, center brought the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and Children’s Theatre of Charlotte into one civic building, using shared circulation, carefully placed adjacencies and age-specific zones to make two organizations feel connected without erasing their different missions.
Building Design+Construction’s August 11, 2010 report described a 160,000-square-foot facility with a 570-seat theater. The report’s central design idea was a winding ramp that linked library, theater, teen, rehearsal and interactive-exhibit functions while also acting as an overlook and, when needed, theater waiting space. Current information on ImaginOn’s official website describes a 102,000-square-foot center with two theaters and more than 300,000 annual visitors. Those figures come from different sources and dates and should not be treated as interchangeable.
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What ImaginOn was designed to do
The project addressed a familiar problem in civic architecture: two institutions may share a mission around children and learning but operate very differently. A public library needs quiet reading, browsing, technology and informal discovery. A theater needs audience arrival, rehearsal, technical support, backstage circulation and timed surges before performances. Children and teenagers also use buildings differently from one another.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsIn the 2010 account, the design team treated those differences as a planning opportunity rather than a reason to put the organizations in separate wings or separate buildings. The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and Children’s Theatre of Charlotte occupied one facility, but each retained recognizable spaces and operational needs. The building was intended to let visitors understand the relationship between the institutions as they moved through it.
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Jeffrey Huberman, FAIA, a partner with Gantt Huberman Architects, described the approach this way: With a lot of them, you walk in the door and go to the right for one function and to the left for the other function. They’re still separate entities. ImaginOn is truly a collaboration of two organizations under one roof.
The distinction matters. Co-location alone does not create a joint-use facility; the circulation and program must make the partnership legible and useful.
How the library and theater were joined
The winding ramp as the organizing device
The most distinctive connective element reported in 2010 was a winding ramp. It carried people between levels and programs, but it was not treated as leftover circulation space. From the ramp, visitors could see portions of the building and understand that several activities were happening around them. That visual connection helped turn movement through the center into part of the experience.
The ramp also had a second life during performances. It could accommodate people waiting for the theater, allowing an audience to gather without blocking the library’s primary paths. This flexibility reduced the conflict between a theater’s concentrated arrival period and the library’s more continuous pattern of use.
Huberman said, Elevators would not work, and we thought escalators would be too noisy.
In that explanation, the ramp was both a practical response to vertical movement and a deliberate social space. A lift could move people efficiently but would not provide the same gradual reveal, and an escalator could have introduced sound and mechanical presence into a building intended for children’s discovery and performance.
Connection without forced sameness
The 2010 article did not describe every room as shared. Instead, it presented the building as a sequence of related environments: library areas, theater spaces, rehearsal functions, teen uses and interactive exhibits. The ramp provided a common thread, while the placement of rooms allowed each activity to operate on its own terms.
This is an important distinction for architects planning joint-use facilities. A shared front door or lobby may produce an image of partnership, but it can also create congestion. ImaginOn’s reported strategy was to distribute the relationship through the building so that visitors encountered multiple programs while still finding clear destinations.
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Why age-specific zoning mattered
Teen space away from younger children
The design gave teenagers a distinct territory, including a teen loft and a computer lab as described in the 2010 article. These uses were placed away from areas intended for younger children. Huberman summarized the social requirement plainly: Teenagers don’t want to be with toddlers.
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That separation was not a rejection of the shared mission. It acknowledged that a teenager may be more willing to spend time in a library when the space offers privacy, independence and an atmosphere appropriate to older users. At the same time, younger children could have environments scaled to their own activities without competing with older students for every table, device or gathering area.
Choice and self-direction for children
The article opened by considering whether the building might look chaotic to adults. Its counterpoint was that children could experience the variety as choice: different paths, sights and activities invited them to decide where to go next. The ramp, visible program areas and interactive exhibits supported that sense of self-direction.
For a children’s cultural facility, this is a different design objective from simply making a floor plan easy to supervise. Staff still need sightlines and controlled access, but the environment can also encourage exploration. ImaginOn’s reported planning connected movement, visibility and program variety rather than treating them as unrelated features.
Architecture described in the 2010 project report
Building Design+Construction described an exterior composed of concrete and glass. Cylindrical concrete columns and an angular roof gave the building a strong geometric identity, while glass curtain walls on the east and south façades opened the interior to daylight. Entrances used colorful glazed tile, adding a more tactile and playful counterpoint to the concrete.
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The reported footprint also left room for green space and public plazas. That site decision supported gathering before and after events and gave the building an outdoor civic setting instead of using every available area for enclosed floor space.
These descriptions belong to the 2010 article’s account of the design and construction. They should not be read as a present-day inspection report or as confirmation that every material and exterior condition remains unchanged.
Scale and program: two different published snapshots
The project’s size is reported differently in the historical article and on the current official website. The discrepancy is not explained in the available sources, so each figure needs its attribution.
| Source and date | Reported area | Program or operating figure |
|---|---|---|
| Building Design+Construction, August 11, 2010 | 160,000 square feet | 570-seat theater |
| ImaginOn official website, reviewed October 13, 2026 | 102,000 square feet | Two theaters and more than 300,000 annual visitors |
The current site also describes a dedicated library space for children 11 and under, a teen-only library, classrooms, a multimedia production studio and interactive exhibits. Those details show how the operating description has evolved, but they do not establish whether the 2010 figure used a different measurement basis, included areas no longer counted, or reflected a project-stage calculation.
Sustainability measures reported at the time
The 2010 report presented sustainability as part of both the building’s performance strategy and its educational mission. It said the project was registered with the U.S. Green Building Council for a LEED Silver rating and was expected to become Charlotte and Mecklenburg County’s first LEED-certified building. That was a registration-era expectation, not proof of the eventual certification result.
The reviewed current facility website does not state whether the building ultimately received LEED certification. A contemporary article about the certification outcome would therefore require a separate, current source.
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Daylight, shading and lighting
Extensive daylighting was supported by the east and south glass curtain walls described in the project account. The article also reported energy-efficient lighting and exterior shading. Together, those measures were intended to bring natural light into occupied areas while limiting unwanted solar gain and reducing dependence on electric lighting.
Materials and waste reduction
The article reported that 78% of construction and demolition waste was recycled. It also described the reuse of a former parking lot, locally made recycled materials, tile incorporating post-consumer glass and post-industrial grinding paste, and toilet partitions made from recycled plastic detergent bottles.
Those details illustrate a materials strategy that extended beyond a single green-technology feature. Site selection, waste diversion, local sourcing and recycled-content products were treated as related decisions. The 78% figure is a historical project claim from 2010, not a current waste audit or a guarantee of ongoing operational performance.
Teaching sustainability through the building
ImaginOn also incorporated a building-based green scavenger-hunt program. The idea turned visible systems and materials into prompts for learning, allowing children to look for sustainability features rather than encountering them only as hidden engineering decisions. In a children’s facility, that interpretive layer can make environmental design part of the public program.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Historical construction cost
Building Design+Construction reported a total construction cost of $28,286,161. The figure covered categories including sitework, structure, exterior envelope, interior construction, theater equipment, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, plumbing, electrical work and other project costs.
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What the joint-use model teaches designers
Make circulation do more than move people
ImaginOn’s ramp demonstrates how a circulation element can become program. It connected levels, framed views, created a recognizable route and absorbed theater waiting. For a project with fluctuating occupancy, that kind of dual use can make the building more resilient than a corridor sized only for code-minimum movement.
Separate incompatible patterns without isolating institutions
The teen loft and computer lab were positioned away from younger children, while the ramp and shared building identity kept the organizations connected. This combination—distinct zones plus visible relationships—is useful when users need different sound levels, levels of supervision or social atmospheres.
Plan for event peaks
A theater may be quiet for much of the day and crowded immediately before a performance. A library receives visitors continuously and may host its own programs. The reported use of the ramp as theater waiting space shows the value of designing for peak flows rather than average occupancy alone.
Let architecture communicate partnership
The 2010 account treated the building’s forms and materials as part of its civic message. The curved theater volume, glass walls, colorful entrances and visible internal activity helped communicate that the facility was a place for making, watching, reading and experimenting. A joint-use project works best when visitors can understand the relationship between its partners without needing an organizational chart.
Visiting ImaginOn today
ImaginOn’s official website lists the address as 300 East Seventh Street, Charlotte, NC 28202, and describes the center as a collaboration between Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and Children’s Theatre of Charlotte.
- Monday–Thursday: 9 a.m.–8 p.m.
- Friday–Saturday: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Sunday: 1 p.m.–5 p.m.
Hours can change for holidays, performances, programs or operational reasons, so visitors should verify the schedule on the official site immediately before traveling. The current site’s description of two theaters, children’s and teen library spaces, classrooms, a multimedia production studio and interactive exhibits is the appropriate reference for present-day amenities; the architectural and sustainability details above are the historical 2010 account unless specifically identified as current.
Why “A Melding of the Arts” remains a useful case study
ImaginOn’s significance lies in the way several design problems were solved together. The project did not simply place a library and a theater under one roof. It used a ramp to make circulation visible and adaptable, separated age groups without abandoning a shared civic identity, and combined performance, reading, rehearsal, technology and exhibits in a sequence children could explore.
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The historical report also shows why claims about a completed building must be dated. Its 160,000-square-foot figure, 570-seat theater, $28,286,161 construction total, 78% waste-recycling rate and LEED Silver expectation describe the project as reported in 2010. The current official website’s 102,000-square-foot description and more than 300,000 annual visitors describe a later operating snapshot. Keeping those accounts distinct produces a more accurate understanding of both the original design ambition and the facility’s present public identity.
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