The largest public library renovation in Rhode Island’s history was celebrated earlier this month when the Providence Public Library (PPL) posted a 23-minute-long video that served as a virtual ribbon cutting, followed a few days later by a grand opening gala.
The 18-month-long, $29 million renovation transformed 84,000 sf inside a library wing that was built in 1953. (The library itself opened in 1878.) The project converted the building’s Empire Street entrance into a three-story atrium, which has been opened since July. (The library itself was open all summer.) Glass replaced interior walls to create an open and light-filled concept. The renovation added a 2,500-sf workshop/maker space. The wing’s 255-seat auditorium was decked out with a new light and sound system. Space specifically for teen interaction and for digital collections was included.
Also see: The virtual ribbon cutting
The renovation was completed in line with PPL’s ongoing THINK AGAIN Capital Campaign for transforming the library in response to the changing needs of its community. “These renovations are a game-changer for everyone visiting and using our beloved library,” says Jack Martin, PPL’s Executive Director. “Through this complete transformation, we now have a beautiful and welcoming facility that fully complements our free cultural, educational, and career development programs and services, while also enabling our many community partners to utilize our spaces and resources like never before.”
A three-story atrium is the library wing's new centerpiece.
OPENING DRAWS PRAISE
The ribbon cutting video—created by Eleven Design—featured encomiums from state and federal dignitaries, including Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (for whom an “information commons” in the renovated wing is named), Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza, and Crosby Kemper, director of the federal Institute of Museum & Library Services.
designLAB Architects (dLAB) was the design architect on this project, whose other Building Team members included Bond Building Construction (GC), Ed Wojcik Architects, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (engineering), Fisher Dachs Associates, AWA Lighting Designers, KVA Associates, Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering, Structures Workshop, The Queastor Group, and Wil-Spec.
The renovation adds more space for collaboration, teen socializing, and even quiet.
The library’s furniture and fixtures were provided by Casewerks, Steelcase, AIS, The Steel Yard, and W. B. Mason. Wayfinding is provided by Graphic Innovations, Malcolm Grear Designers, and Orion.
The renovation’s funding includes just under $9 million from the state, and private donations that include $1 million from Roselyn Sinclair and $750,000 from the Champlin Foundation.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Community college’s hillside learning center
The Earl E. and Dorothy J. Dellinger Learning Resource Center at Southwest Virginia Community College in Richlands, Va., is the centerpiece of this mountainside school. Designed by Arlington, Va.-based The Lukmire Partnership, the 50,000-sf, two-story building connects the upper and lower campuses, which are separated by a 70-foot vertical grade change.
| Aug 11, 2010
BIG beats out Foster and Hadid in design competition for Kazakhstan's National Library
Invited as one of five pre-selected architect-led teams that included Lord Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid, Copenhagen-based BIG was awarded first prize in an international design competition for the new National Library in Astana, Kazakhstan. The 33,000-square-meter facility will be organized as a “circular loop of knowledge” that allows for clear, intuitive orientation of the vast co...
| Aug 11, 2010
Modest recession for education construction
Construction spending for education expanded modestly but steadily through March, while at the same time growth for other institutional construction had stalled earlier in 2009. Education spending is now at or near the peak for this building cycle. The value of education starts is off 9% year-to-date compared to 2008.
| Aug 11, 2010
Concrete Solutions
About five or six years ago, officials at the University of California at Berkeley came to the conclusion that they needed to build a proper home for the university's collection of 900,000 rare Chinese, Japanese, and Korean books and materials. East Asian studies is an important curriculum at Berkeley, with more than 70 scholars teaching some 200 courses devoted to the topic, and Berkeley's pro...
Cultural Facilities | Aug 11, 2010
12 major trends in library design
Many academic planners assumed that the coming of the Internet would lead to the decline of the library as we know it. To the contrary, many academic libraries have experienced significantly increased patron use in recent years.
| Aug 11, 2010
Giants 300 University Report
University construction spending is 13% higher than a year ago—mostly for residence halls and infrastructure on public campuses—and is expected to slip less than 5% over the next two years. However, the value of starts dropped about 10% in recent months and will not return to the 2007–08 peak for about two years.
| Aug 11, 2010
Let There Be Daylight
The new public library in Champaign, Ill., is drawing 2,100 patrons a day, up from 1,600 in 2007. The 122,600-sf facility, which opened in January 2008, certainly benefits from amenities that the old 40,000-sf library didn't have—electronic check-in and check-out, new computers, an onsite coffeehouse.
| Aug 11, 2010
Fleet Library, Rhode Island School of Design
When tasked with transforming an early 1920s Italian Renaissance bank building into a fully functional library for the Rhode Island School of Design, the Building Team for RISD's Fleet Library found itself at odds with the project's two main goals. On the one hand, the team would have to carefully restore and preserve the historic charm and ornate architectural details of the landmark space, d...
