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THE ARCHITECTURE ISSUE
The Chronicle Review's yearly look at architecture examines buildings on and off campuses. Above, Caltech's new Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, designed by Morphosis. (Chronicle photograph by Lawrence Biemiller)
Other News
U. of Tennessee Landmark to Move to Nearby Location
New campus buildings
Multimedia
Pomona's Skyspace
The artist James Turrell turned a Pomona College courtyard into a work of art worth waking up at dawn for.
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About Buildings & Grounds
Buildings & Grounds is written by Scott Carlson (left) and Lawrence Biemiller (right). Scott Carlson writes about architecture, facilties, energy, and sustainability, among other topics. Lawrence Biemiller writes about architecture and facilities and contributes to Notes from Academe. What's happening on your campus? Let us know.
A Grand Renovation of the Library at Lehigh U. Preserves Tradition
The 1878 rotunda in Linderman Library at Lehigh University has gotten a stunning renovation, along with the rest of the building. See a slideshow featuring more pictures of the library renovation. (Photograph by Barry Halkin)
This year’s architecture issue wasn’t like that of past years in a significant way: It did not have profiles of recently built or renovated buildings. In past issues, we had written about, for example, new athletic facilities, innovative science buildings, and an art museum on stilts.
Had this year’s issue followed past formats, it would have surely featured Lehigh University’s renovated Linderman Library, which reopened last year. The original library, a rotunda, was designed by Philadelphia architect Addison Hutton and built in 1878 for $100,000. (Railroad tycoon Asa Packer gave $500,000 for the library, $400,000 of which went to books.) In a booklet commemorating the renovation, Elizabeth Shimer Bowers writes that Linderman “was one of the first American libraries to have specially designed areas for staff, collections, and readers.” The original building was made of iron, with white-tile walls that would help amplify the luminance from the gas lights. The top of the rotunda features a hand-painted stained-glass window.
In 1929, the library got an addition that partially wrapped around the original rotunda, which included a stack core and a large reading room, with paneled and carved dark oak walls.
When the renovation was being planned, Lehigh officials asked the students for input. Much has been made recently of what students want in library designs—what attracts today’s students, who have a thousand distractions, and what keeps them in a temple for books, when electronic media make remote learning possible. Barbara Fister, the library director at Gustavus Adolphus College, recently said that one of her colleagues asked students what they wanted in a library. “They tended toward the traditional, with an affinity for dark woodwork, study tables with lamps, and lots of books,” she wrote.
At Lehigh, the sentiment was the same: preserve tradition, yet make the building work for modern users. The woodwork and detailing has been brought back to its original luster. MGA Architects, from Philadelphia, added a glass wall between the 1878 library and the 1929 addition, which allows people to see the old library as they walk in. In the reading room, tables with task lighting and outlets for laptops were added. Visitors can find a cafe on the lower level, along with a gallery.
One challenge facing the architects was making newer and older parts of the building, with floors set at different heights, work together. The architects rebuilt a corridor in the middle of the building that helped resolve the differences.
See more of the renovation—including before and after pictures—in a slideshow. —Scott Carlson
Scott Carlson | Monday March 17, 2008 | Permalink | Contact usComments
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Congratulations to those who guided this project to its successful conclusion.
Great job!
Stan Wollock
— stan wollock Mar 17, 05:29 PM #
The project exceeded every expectation. It is a gem.
— Robert Spillman,FAIA Mar 18, 10:35 AM #
by combining old and new themes the unusual beauty of this building is amplified many times!t is truly one of the most spectacular library buildings in the US!
— rudy fischer Mar 18, 03:39 PM #
When I attended Lehigh University in 1955 I was impressed with this building then.It has always been a very comfortable place to be.My family and I are very impressed with the quality of this renovation and we are pleased to have had the opportunity once again to support higher education with the renovation of Linderman Library.
— John R Linderman Sr. Mar 19, 11:59 AM #
The renovation of this beautiful building was nicely done, but what’s with the Black and White before photos?? Do you think we’re idiots? Of course the after photos look better when they’re in color!
— Mike Shannon Mar 20, 12:24 PM #