Shawmut Design and Construction has recently completed the $120 million renovation of Smith College’s Neilson Library in Northampton, Ma. The project took the original, outdated building and reimagined it as the energy-efficient, intellectual heart of the campus.
In partnership with architectural designer Maya Lin and principal architect Shepley Bulfinch, the 200,000-sf project restored the building and created an energy-efficient design and flexible collaborative workspaces.
The building’s main entrance opens into a large atrium that features a four-story oculus. The building’s use of glass, wood, and stone works with the design to promote harmony with the surrounding exterior landscape, designed by Edwina von Gal with Ryan Associates.
The original 1909 facade is incorporated into the reimagined building, which is composed of three distinct sections: the central core and two new wings. The new wings are dubbed jewel boxes for their curved, light-filled design made from a mix of masonry, wood, and glass.
The north wing, named for Smith’s ninth president, Ruth J. Simmons, comprises spaces to support active learning and innovation. The south wing, named in honor of Smith’s eighth president, Mary Maples Dunn, brings together special collections (the Sophia Smith Collection, Rare Books, and College Archives) into one climate-controlled area.
SEE ALSO: MiraCosta Community College to receive new Chemistry and Biotechnology Building
Flexible, collaborative workspaces include the Learning Commons, the Jill Ker Conway Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, and the Special Collections Seminar Room. A series of classroom spaces, a reading room, study areas, a sunken courtyard, and event spaces, and an outdoor amphitheater with shaded seating are also included.
A Digital Media Hub offers studios for students to record podcasts, videos, and use other digital media; self-service labs for students to use technologies such as spatial analysis, gaming software, survey software, and GIS; a User Experience Lab for research and usability testing; and access to large-format and 3D printers.
Additionally, the Neilson Library is now connected to the recently renovated Alumnae Gym via an interior walkway. The Alumnae Gym provides additional learning spaces that are open 24/7.
Sustainability features include a high-performance building envelope, advanced daylighting strategies, and materials that promote health and wellness. Throughout, the library incorporates materials that promote health and wellness by not containing harmful chemicals, as well as local, regional, and recycled products. The building has the ability to become an ‘all-electric’ complex and is pursuing LEED V.4, Gold Accreditation.
Related Stories
University Buildings | Jun 29, 2015
Ensuring today’s medical education facilities fit tomorrow’s healthcare
Through thought-leading design, medical schools have the unique opportunity to meet the needs of today’s medical students and more fully prepare them for their future healthcare careers. Perkins+Will’s Heidi Costello offers five key design factors to improve and influence medical education.
University Buildings | May 30, 2015
Texas senate approves $3 billion in bonds for university construction
For the first time in nearly a decade, Texas universities could soon have some state money for construction.
University Buildings | May 19, 2015
Special Report: How your firm can help struggling colleges and universities meet their building project goals
Building Teams that want to succeed in the higher education market have to help their clients find new funding sources, control costs, and provide the maximum value for every dollar.
University Buildings | May 19, 2015
Renovate or build new: How to resolve the eternal question
With capital budgets strained, renovation may be an increasingly attractive money-saving option for many college and universities.
University Buildings | May 19, 2015
KU Jayhawks take a gander at a P3 development
The P3 concept is getting a tryout at the University of Kansas, where state funding for construction has fallen from 20% of project costs to about 11% over the last 10 years.
University Buildings | May 5, 2015
Where the university students are (or will be)
SmithGroupJJR's Alexa Bush discusses changing demographics and the search for out-of-state students at public universities.
BIM and Information Technology | Apr 9, 2015
How one team solved a tricky daylighting problem with BIM/VDC tools, iterative design
SRG Partnership's Scott Mooney describes how Grasshopper, Diva, Rhino, and 3D printing were utilized to optimize a daylighting scheme at Oregon State University's new academic building.
Sponsored | University Buildings | Apr 8, 2015
Student Housing: The fight against mold starts in the bathroom
University Buildings | Apr 8, 2015
The competitive advantage of urban higher-ed institutions
In the coming years, urban colleges and universities will outperform their non-urban peers, bolstered by the 77 million Millennials who prefer to live in dense, diverse, and socially rich environments, writes SmithGroupJJR's Michael Johnson.
University Buildings | Mar 18, 2015
Academic incubators: Garage innovation meets higher education
Gensler's Jill Goebel and Christine Durman discuss the role of design in academic incubators, and why many universities are building them to foster student growth.
