Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Carnegie Mellon University: Sorrell's Engineering & Science Library Renovation

  • 07/01/19
Carnegie Mellon University 

PHOTOS © ED MASSERY

A minimally disruptive renovation has transformed the Sorrell’s Engineering & Science Library at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh into a learning hub for 21stcentury students.

Three prefabricated bamboo elements are at the heart of this renovation. Designed by GBBN and fabricated locally by two Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture alums, these striking millwork pieces bring warmth to a concrete Brutalist building and help turn it into a place for active learning. Because the space now offers students a wide variety of ways to study and learn, they’re empowered to choose the zone that best suits their project needs and study style.

Near the entrance of the 16,000-square-foot space, “arbors” bring down the scale and provide collaborative zones that feel sheltered within an active, social area. A “portal” in the middle separates the active space near the entry and circulation desk from quiet and focused work zones toward the back. The portal also offers students a range of alternative seating on and around its platform. A multimedia collaborative “den” at the back of the library lets larger groups work without disrupting others.

Additionally, prefabricated glass and metal modular work rooms were added to the space. They keep students visually connected to the rest of the library but provide acoustic privacy for group projects.

All four elements were fabricated offsite and installed in just two weeks during a campus break. To accommodate these changes, a large number of little-used books were moved off-site while 12,000 of the most frequently requested titles remain.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management July/August 2019 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Tennessee Middle School Completes Health, Life Safety Renovations

    The Giles County Board of Education in Pulaski, Tenn., recently announced that a series of renovation projects has been completed at Bridgeforth Middle School, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects & Engineers and Brindley Construction to modernize building systems at one of the district’s oldest schools.

  • FGCU Breaks Ground on New Health Sciences Building

    Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) has launched construction on a major new academic facility that leaders say will reshape healthcare education in Southwest Florida for decades to come, according to university news.

  • abstract illustration of school gym

    How the Gymnasium Can Serve as a Model for Learning Space Design

    Multipurpose gyms work because flexibility was built into the brief from the start, not retrofitted later. The same logic applies to academic spaces.

  • Ohio State University Opens 26-Story Hospital

    The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center recently opened in Columbus, Ohio, standing 26 stories and covering 1.9 million square feet, according to a university news release. The project marks ten years of effort and is the university’s largest single-facility construction project ever.