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

  • Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

    Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • University of Oklahoma Announces New Campus Master Plan

    The University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., recently announced that it will soon launch a new, comprehensive Campus Master Plan to guide the campus’ physical development during the next decade, according to a news release.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part II

    As education leaders look toward 2026, the design of K–12 and higher education facilities is being reshaped by powerful, converging forces. Survey respondents point to the rapid growth of Career and Technical Education, deeper alignment with workforce and industry needs, and the accelerating influence of AI and emerging technologies.