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Georgia Institute of Technology

Price Gilbert and Crosland Tower Library Renewal

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

Price Gilbert and Crosland Tower Library Renewal

Information

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.

Price Gilbert and Crosland Tower Library Renewal

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

Client

Georgia Institute of Technology

Collaborators

PRAXIS3

Price Gilbert and Crosland Tower Library Renewal
Price Gilbert and Crosland Tower Library Renewal

Media

Price Gilbert and Crosland Tower Library Renewal

Awards

The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation
Excellence in Sustainable Rehabilitation
2021

AIA Georgia
Honor Award
2021

Structural Engineers Association of Georgia
Outstanding Project Award
2020

ENR Southeast (Engineering News Record)
Award of Merit
2020

Price Gilbert and Crosland Tower Library Renewal

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