Temple University to Build High-Tech Library

April 30, 2013 1499 Views Eastern U.S., LLP; Manhattan Construction Group; presidential library; Southern Methodist University, Sick Building Syndrome, State of Our Schools, Technology Center

PHILADELPHIA — Construction of a new $180 million research library building on Temple University’s Philadelphia campus is moving forward with the announcement earlier this month that Marlton, N.J.-headquartered Hill International will provide construction management services on the project. The 3.5-year contract is approximately $5 million.

The four-story, 350,000-square-foot facility will become a focal point for Temple students and faculty, as well as the surrounding Philadelphia community. The new library building will house Temple’s 1.5-million-volume collection of books and will be built on a new site at Broad and Berks streets, replacing services at the 46-year-old Paley Library.

Although a contract has not officially been signed, Norwegian-based architecture firm Snohetta will serve as the architect, according to an interview with Snohetta director and co-founder Craig Dykers published by Next City. Architects from the firm gave a presentation on April 4 at the university’s 2013 Temple Architecture Week.

The architecture firm is perhaps best known for its design of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum and its recent completion of the James B. Hunt Jr. Library at North Carolina State University (NCSU).

Designed for LEED Silver certification, the NCSU library includes several high-tech features such as a 3-D printing workshop and robotic book retrieval system, which controls about 2 million of the library’s books. Plus, there are spaces for large-scale visualization research, videoconferencing and multimedia production. It also includes traditional reading rooms mixed with brightly colored and lit group study spaces, and a fixed external aluminum shading system helps diminish heat gain, while allowing for several daylighting elements. For example, a glass wall in the building stands at about 300-feet long and 50-feet high.

Based on Snohetta’s design of the NCSU library, several resources (including Next City and Curbed Philly) are speculating that the new library will be a “notable building” for Temple University. As 21st century libraries are no longer just libraries, this one will act as a sort of living room for students, with social and interactive spaces and research technology at their disposal. The library is part of the school’s 2020 Framework master plan and includes $50 million in funding from the state.