Temple University Charles Library receives the 2020 ALA/IIDA Library Interior Design Award
The visually and spatially diverse Temple University Charles Library in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has received the 2020 ALA/IIDA Library Interior Design Award. The ALA/IIDA Library Interior Design Awards honor excellence in library interior design and promote examples of extraordinary design reflected through innovative concepts. LERA would like to congratulate our partners and the project team, architects Snøhetta / Stantec JV and Temple University.
Temple University Charles Library Interior at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
LERA was the structural engineer for this new 225,000-sf (20,900-sm), visually and spatially diverse library, revitalizing Temple University’s North Philadelphia campus. The block-long building features a 3-story domed-atrium with clear spans of up to 100 ft, a large front arch that cantilevers off of the building, green roofs and an outdoor balcony offering cross-campus views.
The entire structure of the building is designed to support the weight of the building-wide green roof. The structural system includes long-span structural steel trusses and steel framing.
The library offers quiet study and reading spaces, large meeting rooms, areas for special events and technology-related activities (such as data visualization and 3D printing) and a state-of-the-art automated book storage and retrieval system that stores nearly 2 million volumes in bins stacked three stories high, opening up program space for other functions in the core of the library.
