We are delighted to learn that a team of architects, contractors, and planners has been selected to design LSU’s Library and Learning Commons. This team, led by Eskew, Dumez, and Ripple (EDR) and the Coleman Group, includes the internationally recognized architecture firm Perkins&Will, whose “Libraries: Design for Exploration and Connectivity” lookbook illustrates their library design philosophy and describes a selection of their previous library projects.
Our project will be in exceptionally capable hands. This EDR/Coleman partnership completed the Library and Learning Commons planning project last year, and their team will be familiar to many on LSU’s campus from when they designed and built the new Patrick F. Taylor Hall, which houses the College of Engineering.
We expect this team to begin their work very soon, though it will likely take 12 or 18 months for them to complete the designs for the roughly 200,000 sq. ft. building. Once complete, the State of Louisiana and LSU can turn to securing the funding, enabling the ceremonial shovels to come out and the actual construction to begin.
It's too early to speculate as to when the doors might open to this marvelous and desperately needed building. It’s not too early to imagine, however, what students and faculty will experience once they step inside: books and journals, certainly, but surrounded by modern technologies with support from expert staff. They will encounter spaces that support every imaginable form of learning and creation, ranging from intensely quiet individual study environments to dynamic areas ideal for peer tutoring, and work in state-of-the-art classrooms and shape-shifting collaborative spaces that will adapt to a constant stream of students from every discipline.
We look forward to sharing examples of the kinds of work and connections that our new building will make possible. We’re certain that the building will deepen LSU’s culture of study and creation, making LSU graduates better prepared to lead in the challenging workplaces they’ll move into. It’s hard to imagine more meaningful work, supporting those students as they prepare to change the world.
Sincerely,
Stanley Wilder
Dean, LSU Libraries
Kathleen and Joel Ory Endowed Professor
The LSU Libraries includes the LSU Library and the adjacent Hill Memorial Library. Together, the libraries contain more than 4 million volumes and provide additional resources such as expert staff, technology, services, electronic resources, and facilities that advance research, teaching, and learning across every discipline.