Public Library - Bryn Mawr, PA

This project asked students to design a public library for Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania of approximately 70,000 sq. ft.

As a passionate reader, I saw they library as a form of institutional design that should be revered and respected. In Bryn Mawr, there is a highly educated population which includes university students from four area universities. I wanted to create a library which invoked awe and reverence of knowledge but, at the same time, allow for intimate spaces where the average citizen could experience knowledge on a personal level. To this end, I used a monastic typology to define the library as a building with a central "sacred space" or nave to house all the collections, while a "cloister" houses intimate spaces for leisure reading and studying. Finally, a collection of buildings on the other side of the nave houses more public functions of the building, such as the children's area, the computer lab, and a meeting room.