Library Commons
Project Summary
As student education, experiences, and needs become more holistic and symbiotic, Library Commons at the University of Illinois Springfield will bring together library and student services into a single location whose unified resources will guide students through a successful educational experience and toward impactful careers. Situated on the last open parcel of land on the main quad, between the Student Union and the Health & Sciences Building, Bailey Edward designed the nearly 58,000 sf, LEED GOLD facility to be a nucleus for advanced and innovative learning, teaching, and collaboration.
client
University of Illinois Springfield
location
Springfield, IL
size
57,713 sf
cost
$34 million
client
University of Illinois Springfield
location
Springfield, IL
size
57,713 sf
cost
$34 million
All Together Now
The student-centric, integrated learning environment will create better access for four different units: Library, The Learning Hub, Information Technology Services, and the Career Development Center with associated spaces including classrooms, conference rooms, study areas, collaboration spaces, and offices. To develop a path forward, our team of architects from both Bailey Edward and Perkins Eastman conducted numerous program confirmation conversations with the UIS Core Committee, Facilities & Services representatives, and the Illinois Capital Development Board to gain insights into the vision for Library Commons and their needs and wishes for future collaborations and use.
Climbing Toward Success
Standing proudly in the UIS Quad, Library Commons welcomes students, faculty, visitors, and staff through the entry of an ascending masonry spiral, a physical representation of the student’s educational journey and process of discovery. Once inside, a central, open atrium introduces students to the main welcome/joint services desk on the ground floor. Beyond this initial discovery point, the spiral becomes a useful stair: terraces provide seating for casual study, informal learning, and relaxation while encouraging movement up its steps. At its pinnacle, the stairway meets a high-ceilinged, celebratory reading room with a large, open view overlooking the quad where the journey began while framing a vista to the world beyond the campus, a nod to the future potential of those who have made the educational journey.
Green Goals
Our team worked with the University’s Campus Senate Committee on Sustainability to define the project’s LEED Gold certification goal. As the building is currently designed, it is slated to reduce energy usage by 60 to 70%. By diverting construction waste from landfill, salvaging and recycling material, using regional materials regarding material extraction, harvest, manufacture, and/or recovery, and using wood-based materials from sustainably harvested forests certified by the Forest Steward Council (FSC), the construction of the new Library Commons comes at a low carbon cost. To ensure the long-term health and wellbeing of individuals using the space, materials and finishes will have no or low-emitting volatile organic compounds or off-gassing.