Kalamazoo College, Upjohn Library Commons
Kalamazoo, Michigan
89,450 sq. feet (52,000, original 1967 building; 37,450, 2006 addition)
Services Provided:
Kalamazoo College hired LDA to provide complete project management services for their new Upjohn Library Commons. All public and staff areas were re-planned and refurnished, while interior design service was shared with the architects, TMP Associates. One member of the LDA team who planned the original 1967 library brought special insight to the project.
The new building is now organized as a model Learning Commons with library, media and information technology services combined under one roof to serve as a portal to global information. The Learning Commons concept provides facilities for faculty and student interaction, in the form of classrooms and seminar rooms of varying sizes. Furnishings are adapted for collaborative learning, which is typical of the Learning Commons. There are 78 individual and collaborative computer stations, in addition to a state-of-the-art computer training room. High-density shelving for back periodicals, rare books and archival storage frees up additional space for library patrons. A two-story reading room has a fireplace at each end.
In addition to the library spaces, the building includes campus Media Services, Computer Help Desk, Video Production Studio, Center for New Media Design and the Rare Book Room, along with the college archives and a writing center. A building highlight is the Book Club Café, which greets visitors as they enter the library.