Engaging Passion, Inspiring Discovery
University of Pittsburgh, Hillman Library
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To Higher Education
Pittsburgh, PA | 230,000 SF
Coming in Phase 4: A new, welcoming glass entry on the ground floor will offer more casual forum areas and small group gathering spaces where students can collaborate.
The University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library is radically reprogramming spaces and services to better connect students to digital information and the expertise of librarians. Space that once housed printed information is being opened for people to collaborate and create. When the multi-year, multi-phased Hillman Library renovation is complete, it will better support 21st century students and the campus community through enhanced digital services in a welcoming environment that inspires discovery.
Six screens across and three screens high, this interactive digital display at Hillman (designed in collaboration with Potion) makes the process of searching and discovery more engaging and more visible.
Quiet, but not isolated: Phase 1 gave students more daylit spaces to work.
Its design helps establish the library as a forum—where the academic community and the public can come together and share knowledge.
The renovation will transform the library’s physical space to address three primary program enhancements: Creation: in the form of digital resources, including data visualization and making; Discovery: by empowering students to digitally browse special collections and unique research; Discourse and Dissemination: The new library will provide spaces (some quiet, some collaborative) for study and interdisciplinary research. Its design helps establish the library as a forum—where the academic community and the public can come together and share knowledge.
Coming in Phase 4: Programming, library staff space, and curated displays are organized around a new central stair in the atrium to encourage movement, curiosity, and discovery of new passions and skills.
Strategically rolling out in phases, the reimagined library will allow students to easily see and survey offerings so they can follow their passions, unlock hidden talents, and connect with peers. The transformed library will include a writing center, bookbinding lab, and video production suite. The Data Visualization Lab will be a place to combine different computational research threads to find new outcomes.
Bringing more daylight into the library helps it feel welcoming and inviting. Views out keep library users connected to nature and grounded in a specific sense of place.
In the library it's ok to be a beginner. Hillman's new makerspaces invite exploration and the discovery of new passions and skills.
The transformed Hillman Library will feature a new café, reading areas, and audio/video suites. Individual study rooms and nearly 100 enclosed group study rooms are equipped with modern technology to video conference, present, and exhibit material. An ‘Open Lab’ makerspace will provide virtual visualization, 3D printing and laser cutting, Access to the library’s extensive special collections of artwork, personal papers, manuscripts, and photos will be available through interactive displays throughout the space.
Phases 1 through 3 have been completed. The 4th and final phase is expected to be complete in 2024.
Phase 3 & 4: The cafe and open reading areas are complete. Coming in phase 4, a custom-designed wall will wrap the central core of the space, providing a warm backdrop.
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