From the Maplewood Library:
Representatives from the Maplewood Memorial Library accept the 2026 U.S. Local Leadership Award for Project Excellence in New Jersey from the U.S. Green Building Council. The library is the first public library in the state to achieve LEED Gold certification. Following an initial announcement of the selection in April, the physical presentation took place this week during the New Jersey Transformation Forum at Lord Abbett’s global headquarters in Jersey City, a workplace that itself recently achieved both LEED and WELL Platinum certification.
Pictured (Left to Right): Lee Khun, Sage and Coombe Architects; Andrew Sigal, U.S. Green Business Council; Sarah Lester, Director, Maplewood Memorial Library; Jennifer Sage, Sage and Coombe Architects; and Radhna Saxena, Atelier Ten, the sustainability consultants for the project.
Reopened in July 2025, the 32,000-square-foot, all-electric library features a climate-resilient design, solar panels that offset 58 percent of its annual energy use and salvaged historical materials. In alignment with the forum’s sustainability mission, the physical award presented to the library was crafted from sustainably sourced wood.
A drone shot of the library showing its solar panels. Photo credit: Mason Levinson for the Maplewood Memorial Library
