Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

The City University of New York: Medgar Evers College Library

  • 06/01/15

Set within the existing 1980 Bedford Building of Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, NY, a renovation designed by Ikon.5 Architects remade the building’s drab entrance with an open glass façade, and includes a new 2,000-square-foot Welcome Center and a café with an electronic media display. The renewal transforms 45,000 square feet of existing traditional library space into a modern information commons.

The City University of New York: Medgar Evers College Library

PHOTOS © JEFFREY TOTARO and © JAMES D’ADDIO

Treating each interior surface as a bright, reflective page, the former dark and shadowy space is now a bright and airy learning environment, taking advantage of an existing glass wall to admit light deep within the building. Natural light enters the three-story space from north-facing windows and an overhead skylight. This opening increases the legibility of the space and the building’s clarity by allowing visitors to see the various program functions of the library at entry. The result is a light-filled, inspiring information commons with adjacent study and classroom spaces. A new sculptural staircase physically and visually links all three levels.

The glass pavilion of the Welcome Center transforms the defensive and unwelcoming character of the existing building into an open and inviting expression to the adjacent community.

The renovation incorporates a number of sustainable features to reduce energy consumption and improve interior environmental quality. The north-facing glass wall permits diffused natural light to enter, and a photo-optic dimming system monitors light levels and keeps artificial lights off for most of the daylight hours. All enclosed rooms have glass partitions oriented toward the information commons to borrow natural daylight throughout all spaces of the building. A reflective roof reduces heat gain, and a new high-performance HVAC system vastly improves energy consumption. Recyclable backed carpet, bamboo wood flooring and paneling, low-VOC paints and LED lighting are used throughout with the goal of improving the quality of the interior environment.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Indiana Wesleyan University Schedules Grand Opening for New Welcome Center

    Indiana Wesleyan University recently announced that it will soon open a new Welcome Center on its campus in Marion, Ind., according to a news release. The facility will serve as the home base for prospective students and their families to learn more about the university and student life there. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for February 19.

  • NWEA Report Recommends K–12 Natural Disaster Recovery Strategies

    The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), a K–12 assessment and research organization, recently announced the release of a new playbook for schools and communities recovering from extreme weather events, according to a news release.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.

  • Illinois District Boosts Security at High-School Stadium

    Richmond-Burton Community High School in Richmond, Ill., recently announced that it has completed the redesigned entrance to its high school stadium with a new focus on school security and community engagement, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects and Engineers on the project as part of District #157’s year-long facilities master plan.

Digital Edition