William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library
Architects & Firms
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
PeopleOwner: Ohio State University Design Architect: Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit: Architect of record: Interior designer: Schooley Caldwell Associates, Inc. Engineer(s): MEP Engineer: Heapy Engineering LLC Civil Engineer: EMH&T Consultant(s) 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 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): Photography © Brad Feinknopf 2009 CAD system, project management, or other software used: |
ProductsExterior cladding: Wood: Ohio White Oak Roofing: Metal: Custom Copper and Lead Coated Copper Windows: Glazing: Skylights: United Sky Suspended Structural Glazing: Novum Glass Canopy: Novum Doors: Metal doors: Dawson bronze doors Hardware: 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: 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 Furnishings: Library Cantilever Shelving: Spacesaver Office furniture: Steelcase, Herman Miller, Allsteel, Hayworth Conveyance: Add any additional building components or special equipment that made a significant contribution to this project: Foamed-in-place insulation: BASF |
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