Shepley Bulfinch has won the “Single Space” category in the 2012 Library Interior Design Competition for the Learning Commons for Atlanta University Center’s Robert W. Woodruff Library. The biennial design award is jointly sponsored by the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and the American Library Association (ALA).
The 2010 interior renovation transformed an existing 1980s library into a dynamic gathering place and center of teaching, learning, and scholarship for the communities of the Atlanta University Center’s four constituent Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Central to Shepley Bulfinch’s design response was the creation of a learning commons to span from the main entrance to the central stair. This now serves as the library’s welcoming ‘front door’ and provides primary services and a variety of settings for learning, working, and collaborating.
The design challenges included creating an entry sequence to orient patrons and highlight services; establishing a sense of identity visible from the exterior; and providing a flexible extended-hours access for part of the learning commons. The original marble entry stairs, which were meant to convey a sense of grandeur to visitors, were re-envisioned as a seating area for poetry readings and other small events. They also became a natural demarcation for a portion of the learning commons that could be secured from the rest of the library as an extended-hours space. A glass folding door rises vertically during normal operating hours to act as a canopy. +
Related Stories
| Aug 27, 2013
Industrial Sector Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest industrial sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 26, 2013
What you missed last week: Architecture billings up again; record year for hotel renovations; nation's most expensive real estate markets
BD+C's roundup of the top construction market news for the week of August 18 includes the latest architecture billings index from AIA and a BOMA study on the nation's most and least expensive commercial real estate markets.
| Aug 26, 2013
Chicago Bears kick off season at renovated Halas Hall
An upgraded locker room, expanded weight room, and updated dining room with an outdoor patio greeted the Chicago Bears when they arrived at Halas Hall for practice this month. The improvements are part of a major expansion and renovation of the Bears’ headquarters in Lake Forest, Ill., completed by Mortenson Construction in less than seven months.
| Aug 22, 2013
Energy-efficient glazing technology [AIA Course]
This course discuses the latest technological advances in glazing, which make possible ever more efficient enclosures with ever greater glazed area.
| Aug 22, 2013
Warehouse remake: Conversion project turns derelict freight terminal into modern office space [slideshow]
The goal of the Freight development is to attract businesses to an abandoned industrial zone north of downtown Denver.
| Aug 21, 2013
AIA: Architecture billings on the rise in July
The Architecture Billings Index for July was 52.7, up from a mark of 51.6 in June. This score reflects an increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings).
| Aug 20, 2013
40 Under 40 retrospective: ‘U40s’ take on continuing ed, snake’s blood
Every month we’ll be touching base with past 40 Under 40 honorees to see what’s been happening in their professional and personal lives since winning the award. This month: An accomplished author of test-prep books and an architect who headed to China when the American economy turned sour.
| Aug 20, 2013
Top Data Center Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Corgan, Gensler, HDR head Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest data center architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Aug 20, 2013
First look: $550 million Billie Jean King National Tennis Center renovation
The United States Tennis Association has announced its plans for a sweeping transformation of the USTABillie Jean King National Tennis Center that will include the construction of two new stadiums, as well as a retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium. The transformation will be implemented in three phases to begin at the conclusion of the 2013 US Open, with the goal of overall completion by the 2018 US Open.
| Aug 15, 2013
Design-build project delivery holds steady at nearly 40% of nonresidential construction: DBIA study
The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), the only organization that defines, teaches and promotes best practices in design-build, has released research indicating that design-build project delivery represents nearly 40 percent of total market share in the United States, based on dollar value at the end of 2012.