Located at the heart of the Hilltop Campus, KMW’s sixth building project for Washington University is the expansion and renovation of the existing central university library. The program called for the perimeter expansion at grade, the complete replanning and renovation of all of the non-stack areas, and the redesign of the entire exterior based on the premise of enchancing the existing character of this vintage 1962 facility, and responding to the need to bring more natural light to the redefined reading areas. As part of the expansion, a new 7,000 square foot cyber-cafe will occupy the southeast corner of the building, where an existing outdoor courtyard will be enclosed as a three-story atrium providing the spatial focus for both the library and the cyber- cafe. As part of the complete reconfiguration of the ground floor, the entrance is moved from the east to the south side of the building, allowing for better controlled access into the building and a common entry vestibule for the cyber-cafe and the library, and providing for the consolidation of the various user services (circulation, reserve, reference, and inter-library loan) in a single shared services/checkout desk.

In order to increase the visibility of its important holdings, the Special Collections (rare and archival materials) reading and work areas were relocated to the ground floor, while the related book storage moved to the lowest stack floor. This entire stack floor has been converted to compact shelving.

The reworking of the exterior entails the replacement of the solid masonry walls on the east and west sides of the top floor with a sunscreened curtain wall, and increasing the amount of windows on the floor below. Also in the scope of the project is a complete seismic upgrade to the existing building structure as well as the full replacement of all mechanical systems and equipment.

With the complete transparency of the entry floor, the entire building allows for views to and from the campus. The octagonal lantern over the cyber-cafe atrium recalls the geometry of the traditional Elizabethan spires on campus.