Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of Southern Maine: The Learning Commons

  • 12/01/16
University of Southern Maine: The Learning Commons interior images

PHOTOS © BLIND DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

Interactive and collaborative learning, rather than quiet study space, was the intention of the University of Southern Maine (USM) Learning Commons, a joint endeavor of the USM School Library and the Division of Student Success. Located on USM’s Portland campus, the Learning Commons incorporates a range of academic support programs with library resources and technologies. Designed by Harriman, the project renovated a 13,500-square-foot floor of USM’s seven-story library to create an academic and social facility that would unite students and staff with a variety of flexible learning spaces and library services.

Harriman’s approach was to create activity zones that encourage multiple modes of learning and discovery. The universal, barrier-free design places open and active areas on the perimeter, allowing natural light to penetrate the building’s deep floor plate. Enclosed group-study rooms and faculty landing offices line the interior, and study areas easily adapt to host different group sizes, further maximizing the space’s flexibility. The open floor plan features a multifunctional help desk with an innovative abstract design that provides for both a private work zone and space to collaborate with library patrons.

The use of technology was a key factor in the design. Power and data connections drop from the ceiling to provide service to freestanding pinwheel tables. An existing concrete vault from the building’s previous use as a bakery was repurposed into an audiovisual recording studio.

Comfortable furniture in collaborative seating zones can be easily reconfigured to accommodate both learning and social purposes. USM’s Learning Commons was designed to appeal to students, with an engaging and contemporary color palette that invigorates the space and creates a collegial atmosphere.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Spaces4Learning Announces 2026 Product Award Winners

    Spaces4Learning has just announced the winners of the 2026 Product Awards! The award program spotlights outstanding product development achievements of manufacturers and suppliers whose products or services are considered to be particularly noteworthy in their ability to enhance K–12 and higher-education learning environments.

  • Doerr School of Sustainability Accelerator

    From Concrete Warehouse to Innovation Hub: Accelerating Sustainability at Stanford

    The transformation of a once windowless, concrete publishing warehouse into a sun-drenched center for global innovation began with a single, fundamental challenge: how to turn an industrial storage shell into a space built for human connection.

  • Philadelphia Middle School Facility Earns LEED Gold Certification

    The Alternative Middle Years (AMY) at James Martin Middle School in Philadelphia, Penn., recently received a LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, according to a news release. The School District of Pennsylvania partnered with KSS Architects on the project.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.