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Seattle University’s expanded library trying for LEED Gold

Seattle University’s expanded library trying for LEED Gold


November 3, 2010

Pfeiffer Partners Architects, in collaboration with Mithun Architects, programmed, planned, and designed the $55 million renovation and expansion of Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons at Seattle University. A three-story, 33,000-sf addition was added to the 92,677-sf complex, creating a new “front door” for the existing six-story building, built in 1966. The new learning commons occupies two floors within the facility and includes a media center, digital commons, media production center, writing and learning center, and research center. The expanded library has about 1,000 seats and can hold 380,000 volumes. The complex also includes the “Byte” café, group study spaces, and interactive “smart” classrooms. The LEED-Gold-designed facility’s green features include daylighting, sustainable and recycled materials, and a rain garden.

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Mass Timber

Bjarke Ingels Group designs a mass timber cube structure for the University of Kansas

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and executive architect BNIM have unveiled their design for a new mass timber cube structure called the Makers’ KUbe for the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design. A six-story, 50,000-sf building for learning and collaboration, the light-filled KUbe will house studio and teaching space, 3D-printing and robotic labs, and a ground-level cafe, all organized around a central core.

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