Price Gilbert and Crosland Tower Library Renewal

A renewed Library of the 21st Century connects Georgia Tech in scholarly community and exploration

Information

Location Atlanta, Georgia
Size 230,000 SF
Services Architecture
Project Type Libraries

In February 2014, BNIM and a multi-disciplinary team of high performance, integrated design consultants were contracted by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia to provide comprehensive design services to adaptively reuse Price Gilbert Memorial Library and Crosland Tower on the Georgia Institute of Technology Campus into Georgia Tech’s vision for the Research Library of the 21st Century. No longer a building where knowledge is simply stored, Georgia Tech is conceived of a place where knowledge is generated. The BNIM team utilized the community’s vision and roadmap findings to program and design the transformation of both buildings into a scholarly community of inspirational spaces. The renovation creates spaces that are functional, flexible, and have plentiful daylight and views. After the renovation, the population using the buildings has doubled—the 1,250 seats in the buildings grew to 2,360—yet total energy consumption is reduced by about a third, and energy consumption per capita is 80% less than previously.

Impact + Innovation

The project is a critical initiative of the Campus Strategic Plan and vision for transforming the campus into a knowledge-based community. It was Georgia Tech’s top priority to renew these built assets and extend their useful lives. From the beginning, the design team and University targeted renewal over new construction as a way to conserve resources, reinvigorate a beloved campus landmark, and reduce cost. The improvements involve careful consideration of the building envelope, energy use, building systems, accessibility and life safety requirements, occupant health and well-being, and connection to the surrounding campus. The transformation was founded on changes in the way that students and faculty currently use the library, as well as future trends in library utilization on peer campuses across the country. With the realization that digital checkouts surpass physical checkouts by a ratio of nine to one, and that the library is busier than ever, stacks of books are moved offsite to, in turn, create collaborative and focus spaces for students. The renewed library is a place of interdisciplinary collaboration, learning, and exploration and is now an extroverted and campus connected destination.

Process

The Library has a long history of partnering with the campus community to co-design new spaces and services. This approach was implemented on the redesign of the Price Gilbert and Crosland Tower Library Renewal. The student and faculty advisory boards were particularly influential in working with the Library and design team to identify preferred designs for spaces and services. User engagement efforts were rooted in the “Lead User” theory developed by Eric von Hippel, an MIT economist. The team’s hypothesis was: by researching and engaging those community members who are at the forefront of their disciplines, we would be better able to design spaces and services to align with future needs. BNIM’s approach of co-designing spaces and services based on “lead user” workarounds and innovations helped create a forward-thinking program that accurately predicts ever-evolving research, teaching and learning behavior.

People

Team

Steve McDowell
Jeremy Kahm
Beena Ramaswami
Michael Luczak
Gretchen Holy
Rohn Grotenhuis
Daniel Eddie
Michael Luczak
Emily Thompson
Daniel Brown
Joshua Hemberger
Anna Morrell
Abigail Reese
Adam Cohen
Nadav Bittan

Client

Georgia Institute of Technology

Collaborators

PRAXIS3

The very best libraries are deeply embedded in their community and devoted to meeting its aspirations. BNIM’s design for the renewal of the Georgia Tech Library gives the campus a powerful symbol of the library’s integral relationship with Georgia Tech’s history and its hopes for the future. My library colleagues and I moved out of Crosland Tower, a crumbling brick silo designed for storing books in windowless spaces and returned in 2019 to a light-filled, energy efficient space for humans. With glass where there used to be walls, higher ceilings, beautiful city views, and plenty of daylight, the buildings remind us constantly to turn ourselves and our programs outward toward the campus and Atlanta. Far more than a renovation of two mid-20th century buildings, BNIM’s work is truly a renewal of the spirit of the library and a reminder of its connection to people, place, and time.

Dean Catherine Murray-Rust, Georgia Tech Library - Price Gilbert Crosland Tower Renewal