Columbus, Ohio

Program: A seven-level, 306,000-square-foot library at Ohio State University, with a central tower of stacks bounded by two atria. The project is a renovation of the circa 1913 Beaux Arts building and its later additions (one from 1947–51 and another from 1977). The library includes reading rooms, group study rooms, a café, a computer lounge, a multimedia production lab, offices, and a roof terrace.  

Design concept and solution: Charged with turning a cluttered library that largely functioned as three separate buildings into a unified whole, Gund aimed to reorganize the interior and reconcile varying building styles without adding bulk. The architects removed the east and west stone walls of the central book tower and replaced them with glass, transforming a formerly closed-off mini-building into a light-filled anchor for the library. They demolished the west wing (the addition from 1977) and replaced it with a new skylit atrium featuring a curved glass facade. The east wing—the original 1913 structure—was gutted and expanded to create a matching atrium. The glass-encased book tower connects the atria and exposes the layout of the building, allowing the three elements to work together as a single volume.

Design Architect:
Gund Partnership
47 Thorndike Street
Cambridge, MA 02141
617 250 6800
617 577 9614 fax
gundpartnership.com

Location: Columbus, Ohio

Completion Date: August 2009

Total construction cost: $75 million

People

Owner: Ohio State University

Design Architect:
Gund Partnership
47 Thorndike Street
Cambridge, MA 02141
617 250 6800
617 577 9614 fax
gundpartnership.com

Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit:
Graham Gund, FAIA, LEED AP
Youngmin Jahan, AIA, LEED AP
David Zenk, AIA, LEED AP
Christine Verbitzki, AIA, LEED AP

Architect of record:
Acock Associates Architects
383 North Front Street Columbus, OH 43215-2248
614-228-1586
acock.com

Interior designer: Schooley Caldwell Associates, Inc.

Engineer(s):
Structural Engineer: Shelley Metz Baumann Hawk

MEP Engineer: Heapy Engineering LLC

Civil Engineer: EMH&T

Consultant(s)
Landscape: MSI Design; Landscape Masterplan by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc.

Lighting: Lam Partners Inc.

Acoustical: American Acoustical Associates

Hazardous Materials:  Chryatech, Inc.

Security:  Security Technology & Design Services

Construction Manager:  TurnerSmoot Joint Venture (Turner Construction Company and S R Smoot Construction Company)

Multiple Prime Contractors
General contractor: Teemok Construction, Inc.

Demolition Contractor:  S. G. Lowendick & sons, Inc.

Concrete Contractor:  Lithko contracting, Inc.

Structural Steel Contractor:  Wanner Metal Worx, Inc.

Electrical Contractor:  Vaughn Industries, Inc.

Plumbing Contractor:  Radico, Inc.

HVAC Contractor:  Bruner Corporation

Fire Protection Contractor:  S. A. Comunale Company, Inc.

Glazing Contractor:  Anderson Aluminum Corporation

Landscape Contractor:  Environmental Management Services, Inc.

Masonry Contractor:  Lang Masonry Contractors, Inc.

Architectural Woodwork Contractor:  Mock Woodworking Company

Site/Utilities Contractor:  Performance Site Management

Interior Finishes Contractor:  Valley Interior Systems, Inc.

Photographer(s):
Brad Feinknopf
614 225 0414
bfeinknopf@feinknopf.com

Photography © Brad Feinknopf 2009

CAD system, project management, or other software used:
FastTrack Scheduling Software
Autodesk Architectural Desktop
Autodesk VIZ Render

 

Products

Exterior cladding:
Metal/glass curtainwall: YKK curtainwall system

Wood: Ohio White Oak

Roofing:
Built-up roofing: Soprema Modified Bitumen Roof system

Metal: Custom Copper and Lead Coated Copper

Windows:
Aluminum: YKK windows

Glazing:
Glass: PPG/Viracon glazing

Skylights: United Sky

Suspended Structural Glazing: Novum

Glass Canopy: Novum

Doors:
Entrances: YKK aluminum entrances

Metal doors: Dawson bronze doors

Sliding doors: Steelcase

Hardware:
Locksets: Best/Stanley

Hinges: Hager

Closers: Dorma

Exit devices: Dorma

Security devices: Von Duprin

Cabinet hardware: Accuride International, Knape & Vogt Mfg. Co., Grass America, Julius Blum.

Interior finishes:
Acoustical ceilings: Armstrong

Suspension grid: Armstrong

Operable Partitions: Modernfold

Paints and stains: Benjamin Moore, PPG, and Sherwin Williams, Kynar

Plastic laminate: Wilsonart, Panolam

Special surfacing: Corian

Floor and wall tile: Daltile-restroom walls

Carpet: Interface, Karistan

Cork Flooring: Duro Cork

Granite: Cold Spring

Rubber Flooring & Stairtreads: Nora  

VCT: Mannington Commercial
    
Concrete Finish: Thorocoat, Sonneborne

Furnishings:
Compact Shelving: Spacesaver

Library Cantilever Shelving: Spacesaver

Office furniture: Steelcase, Herman Miller, Allsteel, Hayworth

Conveyance:
Elevators/Escalators: Otis Elevator

Add any additional building components or special equipment that made a significant contribution to this project: 
Manual and automatic window shade systems:  Mechoshade

Foamed-in-place insulation: BASF