DePaul University’s Master Plan for their Lincoln Park campus arranged buildings around a traditional collegiate quadrangle, which included a library and classroom buildings. After completing the design of the Master Plan, the firm was commissioned to design the new University Library to house a potential 650,000 volumes.
The building was sited to be the east bookend of a quadrangle with existing buildings on the south and west. In a move away from the Brutalist concrete campus buildings from the 1960s, the new library was clad in brick and limestone to harmonize with the adjacent Lincoln Park neighborhood’s residences. The main reading room is a double-height space, filled with natural light and dark wood detailing.
