ACADEMIC LIBRARIES: SELECT PORTFOLIO
About SCB
SCB is an architecture, planning, interior and urban design firm. Founded in Chicago in 1931, SCB provides design services from four locations across the US.
SCB is at the forefront of dense urban living, innovative workplaces, inspiring learning environments, resilient infrastructure, and vibrant communities. Through the collective impact of nearly a century of work, the firm has made an indelible mark on the contemporary landscape.
The academic library has long served as a community anchor on campus, welcoming all students, faculty, and staff regardless of disciplines or areas of study. This spirit of inclusion and the pursuit of knowledge will always be at the core of an academic library’s mission; however, with new understandings about how we learn, unprecedented access to an ever-growing amount of information, and technologydriven education platforms, today’s academic libraries are experiencing a transformation.
SCB IS WORKING WITH COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO CREATE LIBRARIES THAT SERVE A NEW GENERATION OF LEARNERS & EDUCATORS.
Law Library at Charney Hall
Santa Clara University
Information Commons
Loyola University Chicago
Client: Loyola University Chicago
Location: Chicago, IL
Size: 69,000 SF
Located on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Information Commons serves as a learning commons for students with an open, modern design and breathtaking views of Lake Michigan. As a library designed for the digital age, the Information Commons provides space for collaborative learning and web-based research. The building’s site inspired the design team to create a modern, transparent building that offers unobstructed views to the water from campus, while also respecting the historic architectural context of the main academic quad. The resulting design links the university’s past to its future through clear glass walls enclosed between limestone “bookends” using materials, scale, and details similar to those of the surrounding historic buildings.
Matching the Information Commons’ inventive digital library program is an equally innovative approach to mechanical and structural systems. The building features a double skin western façade to pre-heat and cool air, an automated window system along the east facade to capture and utilize airflow along Lake Michigan, radiant flooring, and a computercontrolled shading system to attain energy efficiency. Designed in collaboration with Transsolar Inc., the LEED Silver certified building reduces energy consumption by 52% while maintaining a comfortable interior environment for users.
University Chicago
Matching Information Commons’ inventive digital library program is an equally innovative approach to mechanical and structural systems. The building features a double skin western façade to pre-heat and cool air, an automated window system along the east facade to capture and utilize airflow along Lake Michigan, radiant flooring, and a computer-controlled shading system to attain energy efficiency. Designed in collaboration with Transsolar Inc., the LEED Silver certified building reduces energy consumption by 52% while maintaining a comfortable interior environment for users.
Main Library Master Plan University of Iowa
Special Collections Program Relationships
Client: University of Iowa
Location: Iowa City, IA
Having completed a master plan for the Walter Netsch-designed Hardin Library, University of Iowa’s Health Science Library, SCB was asked to create a master plan for the University’s Main Library.
Part of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, the University of Iowa’s Main Library is comprised of approximately 469,000-square-feet and is home to the School of Library and Information Science. An important aspect of the master plan was to create a more synergistic relationship with the new University Museum, directly adjacent to the library (currently under construction), and to strengthen and enhance the campus precinct.
Through a series of programming workshops with library faculty and user groups from a broad spectrum of the University, SCB has arrived at a master plan that creates two dynamic levels of program and spaces that foster engagement and dialogue as well as brings archives and special collections material out of back-of-house spaces, prominently situating and celebrating the material at the library’s front door. The upper floors will contain consolidated collections, archival storage, offices and quiet study/research spaces.
This
The scope of work outlined in this Phase One report will bring significant improvements to many of the most pressing deferred maintenance needs within the Main Library and articulates a first step among what needs to be many steps in order to
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FLOORS 4-5 COLLECTIONS
Floors 4-5
• Collections
• Back of House Staff & Admin
Floor 3
• Special Collections
Floors 1 & 2
• Engagement & Dialogue
Program Studies
Regenstein Library Planning Study
ProgramStudies
University of Chicago
Program
Client: University of Chicago
Location: Chicago, IL
Size: 9,000 SF
ID&PrivilegesOffice
ID&PrivilegesSupport 120SF
ID&PrivilegesWorkstations& WaitingArea 456SF
EntryControl 45SF
Circulation-Stacks &BookDrop 723SF
Circulation-Desks 390SF
Circulation-Office& Workstation 387SF
ReadingRoomStudyArea 6,874SF
ReadingRoom-“Ask aLibrarian”Desk 72SF
SCB was engaged by the University of Chicago to perform a partial first floor planning study at Regenstein Library. The Library is located on the main north-south axis of the campus. Built in 1970, Regenstein is the largest library on campus and the configuration of the Library offers an interesting answer to customary challenges posed by a complex service facility. Regenstein Library is a welcoming, learning environment where students, faculty and visitors interact and collaborate. The intent of the study is to improve the function of certain operational areas and provide guidance for the Library in future design projects to improve these areas.
•Removecenterturnstiledoor,westdoorsto beentry-only,eastdoorstobeexit-only
•Lobbywithafeaturewallandside directoriesservesastransitionbetween entrydoorsandsecuritygates
•Centralizestaffsupportbehindglazedwall
The program areas involved in the planning study include the lobby and south entrances into the Regenstein; the ID & Privileges Office; the Entry Control Desk; the Circulation Desk; the “Ask a Librarian Desk”; the copy center; as well as the Center for Digital Scholarship. There is also a plan to include a significant art installation on the first floor. Along with the reading room and tech bar, the first floor also supports a circulation desk for inquiries/ assistance, a book drop-off depository, and office to acquire University identification badges and privileges.
Library Renovation and Addition
Alma College
Client: Alma College
Location: Alma, MI
Size: 50,000 SF (renovation), 11,000 SF (addition)
Alma College is a liberal arts college that prides itself on their tradition of teaching and learning grounded in intimate class sizes and a low student-to-faculty ratio. Constructed in 1965, the campus library has now grown out of sequence with these core values.
Seeking to realign the library with the mission of the college, Alma College engaged SCB in programming and designing a renovation and addition to the library. During four months of collaborative workshops, SCB developed collections management strategy to define the nature of the collections retained within the building. The team also created a program of spaces, which will significantly change the library experience. The new vision for the library defines three distinct zones of activity: individual study, staff supported/technology-rich group study, and engagement and dialogue with the Alma community. An addition to the library offers support for the third zone: a flexible space that supports group work throughout the day, yet can easily transition to sponsor lectures and performances in the evenings and on weekends. A critical part of the new library involves the creation of a significant new campus pedestrian spine, serving to center the library at the core of the campus experience.
Law Library at Charney Hall
Santa Clara University
Client: Santa Clara University
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Size: 97,000 SF
Future-focused yet rooted in tradition, Howard S. and Alida S. Charney Hall is the new home of the Santa Clara University School of Law. Weaving together collaboration, research, instructional, and student support space, Charney Hall is a vibrant academic forum where dialogue and exchange of ideas is encouraged. The three-story, 97,000-square-foot facility houses the University’s numerous academic law programs, including intellectual property law, international law, public interest and social justice law, and privacy law. The building’s design conveys transparency and inclusion, incorporating sustainable strategies to create a lowimpact, environmentally responsive building aligned with Jesuit ideals.
Located within Charney Hall is a new Law Library, known as the “Knowledge Center.” It includes 4,300 square feet of stacks in a light-filled two-story space. Open areas for study as well as various sized meeting rooms line the perimeter of the space. Faculty offices are also dispersed
throughout the Knowledge Center, providing direct access to resources. A large reading room with technologybased research capabilities. A warm wood slatted ceiling extends downward through the space, highlighting the height of the library’s core and creating a contemporary aesthetic that complements the University’s more typical traditional spaces.
In addition to the law library, Charney Hall offers a 230-seat lecture hall that can be divided into two 115-seat lecture halls or several different mock court layouts, as well as a 1,700-square-foot collaborative learning classroom. A legal clinic provides hands-on experience to law students and services clients and the community. Study spaces and 53 faculty and administrative offices are located throughout the building.
Law Library at Charney Hall
Santa Clara University
Library and Learning Commons
Wheaton College
Client: Wheaton College
Location: Wheaton, IL
Originally constructed in 1954 and 1975, The Wheaton College Library was similar to that of many campus libraries, a dated facility focused on singular study with inadequate resources to serve the academic needs of today. Acknowledging the need to realign the library with the strategic goals of the institution, Wheaton College selected SCB to transform the building into a library and learning commons for the 21st century.
Prominently sited in the campus core and adjacent to Edman Chapel, the main academic library for the college consists of two buildings; the original Nicolas Library (1954) to the south served as the college’s library until 1975 when growth of the student population and expansion of academic offerings led to the construction of the north wing, which added collection space, study seats, library staff offices, and instructional spaces. Following a program verification and feasibility study, it was determined that the north wing would be maintained and renovated, and the Nicholas building would be replaced to allow for additional programs to come into the library.
The renovation will predominantly maintain the collection of the library but will consolidate it spatially through a more efficient layout of ranges and a blend of high-density storage and open shelving, keeping it browsable to students and faculty. The collection will remain in the existing library building, taking advantage of the structural system in place and
holding space to accommodate the future growth of the collection. The new addition will serve to connect the academic heart of campus, the library, to the spiritual heart, Edman Chapel, through a new contemplative garden between the two. Open study space that was once dispersed throughout the library will become consolidated into a more formal reading room with views to campus.
The ground floor is envisioned as an academic commons, a space for student interaction and collaboration and engagement with library staff. A new café will offer coffee as well as prepared graband-go food options, enhancing the social atmosphere. The commons will open to an elevated porch overlooking the campus’ main quad. As one ascends through the building, the environment will transition to quieter spaces dedicated to study.
New academic enrichment programs have become an integral part of the academic experience at Wheaton, creating new and exciting synergies within the library. Prioritizing new program areas in the addition will allow for greater flexibility and adaptability to future educational needs. The addition of four flexible, generalpurpose classrooms will accommodate various teaching and learning needs. A digital maker space will give students the opportunity to access software typically only available to specific departments, as well as space for “lite” physical making. A series of small, acoustically sound studios will give students space for audio and video recording. The Writing Center, which was located in the original building, will triple in size to offer more space to serve students, while the College’s Learning and Accessibility Services program will move into the library, making this vital academic service more visible and accessible to students. Student feedback, gained in the programming process, identified the need for smaller study rooms; the new library and learning commons will offer a plethora of rooms designed to host two to five students.
Forsyth Library Fort Hays State University
Client: Fort Hays State University
Location: Hays, KS
Completed in 1967, Forsyth Library is positioned along the central spine of Fort Hays State University’s (FHSU) campus and serves as a threshold between the academic core and the residential precinct. After serving as the center of academic life for fifty-five years the University recognized the need to reinvest in Forsyth and realign it in response to the tremendous advances in technology and pedagogy during the intervening years. SCB was engaged by FHSU to lead a series of programming and visioning sessions in order to arrive at a conceptual vision and a program of spaces defining how Forsyth can re-center itself as the heart of the academic experience at FHSU. The resulting vision flips the building inside-out. What was once an inscrutable solid building at the core of the campus will now contain a high degree of transparency and intentional blurring of the edges between indoors and out. Previously, the building contained only one entrance, forcing users arriving from the residential precinct to have to walk around the building in order to enter. The new vision opens Forsyth on all sides to create a ground floor experience that is literally a campus crossroads, encouraging students to use the ground floor as a cut-through on their way to and from class.
The first two levels of Forsyth are envisioned as highly interconnected and focused on discovery, engagement, and dialogue. The balance of library and faculty spaces are placed on these levels in direct adjacency to classrooms, open and enclosed group study spaces, and academic support programs.
A café and assembly space are also situated nearby, encouraging departments, student organizations and outside community groups to engage with the library. The upper level is dedicated to more focused, individual scholarship and contains special collections and archives, quiet study spaces, and the University gallery.
UPPER LEVEL: SCHOLARSHIP
• Contemplative study and research
• Print collection
• Special collections and archive GROUND LEVEL: ENGAGEMENT & DIALOGUE
• Cafe
• Library service
• Gallery
• Assembly spaces and group study
LOWER LEVEL: COLLABORATION
• Instructional spaces
• Open & enclosed group study
• Academic support programs
• High density storage
Watson Library Master Plan
University of Kansas
Client: University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
Watson Library is the main library at the University of Kansas. Centrally located on campus, the library has been at the core of the academic experience since it was first completed in 1924. In anticipation of the centennial celebration of Watson Library’s dedication, SCB, in collaboration with PGAV Architects, was asked to assess the building’s spaces and infrastructure, engage students, faculty, and staff in programming workshops, and create a vision for once again placing the library at the heart of academic life.
A key focus of this effort was the entry level of the building. A new terrace and plaza at the entrance engages the campus open
Hardin Library Master Plan and Renovation
University of Iowa
Client: University of Iowa
Location: Iowa City, IA
Size: 93,000 SF
Since its opening in 1974, Hardin Library has served as the Health Sciences Library for the University of Iowa. The intervening years have seen enormous growth of the University’s medical programs and enrollment, as well as dramatic changes in health science research and pedagogy. SCB, along with CMBA Architects, was engaged to develop a comprehensive master plan for the building. The goals of the plan were to identify deferred maintenance issues, identify and create a strategy to bring new programs into underutilized spaces in the building, and develop a renovation implementation plan to position the building to serve the university for the next 50 years.
JOHN CULSHAW Jack B. King University Librarian
FOURTHFLOOR|PLAN
Following the completion of the master plan, the design team began phase one of the renovation, a comprehensive update of the fourth floor. Excess stacks were removed to create new study space for students. Furniture solutions support a variety of learning styles, offering a mix of casual seating, individual study carrels, and spaces for group work. Improved and plentiful electrical access increases the flexibility of the space, allowing students ample spots to plug in across the floor. New ADA-compliant restrooms enhance accessibility.