Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

The College of Idaho: Cruzen-Murray Academic Library

  • 07/01/18
College of Idaho

PHOTOS RIGHT AND ABOVE © ADAM ESCHBACH/THE COLLEGE OF IDAHO, PHOTOS LEFT AND FAR LEFT © GABE BORDER

The Cruzen-Murray library is a campus gateway that has become a signature building for the College of Idaho in Caldwell, ID, and a leading example of the 21st-century transformation of the library building. The new library features 60,000 square feet of enclosed floor area over three levels.

Designed by richärd+bauer of Phoenix, the library is a light-filled, inviting environment with ample opportunities for exterior views. The sustainable building approach used both passive and active measures to reduce the library’s energy consumption. A geothermal heat pump system reduces operating costs, extends mechanical system life, and reduces the system life-cycle cost.

The exterior skin is an insulated glass curtain wall which is shaded by a series of perforated metal shade fins arranged to accept natural light into the interior spaces at the appropriate times of the year and throughout each day. The shade fins spiral around the elliptical shape, rising at the entry to invite visitors inside.

The main entrance is located on the west side of the building, which also features a terraced landscaped plaza providing access to the 24/7 technology lab area. The main entry leads to a curving sculptural stair, taking visitors to the main reading room on the second level overlooking the dynamic two-story entry space. A convex cedar board ceiling over the entire second level provides a warm, acoustically pleasant environment. In the evening, the building acts as a softly glowing lantern on campus, lit from within via the richly expressed ceiling.

The interior is arranged with public/social spaces on the west facing the existing campus and quadrangle, and quiet study and individual spaces primarily placed on the east. The book stacks are arrayed along the eastern edge of the building on the ground and second levels. A central “core” houses classroom and office spaces.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management July/August 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • 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.

  • Wold Completes Geothermal Projects at Two Minnesota Schools

    Wold Architects & Engineers recently announced that it has completed two geothermal expansion projects for Mounds View Public Schools in Shoreview, Minn., according to a news release. The work at Highview Middle School and Irondale High School serves the district’s long-term goal of reducing energy costs and dependency on non-renewable fuel sources, as well as improving building performance.

  • Cal Poly Humboldt Starts Construction on Healthcare Education Hub

    California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, Calif., recently announced that work has begun on a renovation project that will turn the Stewart Building into a new Healthcare Education Hub, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Sundt Construction Inc. for construction services.