Easton, Pennsylvania

Lafayette College
David Bishop Skillman Library

The renovation and expansion of the Skillman Library transforms a circa 1964 building into a vibrant center for social and intellectual life at Lafayette College. A glass curtainwall addition replaces the heavy masonry front façade of the original building, creating a new connection with the College green and a new campus presence for the Library. A second addition on the back of the building is clad with copper and the same fieldstone used on surrounding historic buildings.

Inside, a reconceived information services core is placed at the center of the building, surrounded by group study, special events, and informal meeting spaces. A gallery serves as a changing exhibition venue for the Library’s special collections. A café facing the College green provides a social setting for students and faculty.  A new skylit glass and stone staircase, inserted at the seam of the new and original buildings, connects all levels of the Library, provided new wayfinding clarity for the Library.  

Client
Lafayette College
Status
Completed 2005
Project Size
Renovation | 75,000 GSF New Construction | 30,000 GSF
Program
Library, Exhibition, Café
Awards
AIA / ALA Library Building Award
AIA Interior Architecture Award
Boston Society of Architects Honor Award
Boston Society of Architects Educational Facilities Award
“The Architect strove to expand and transform an undervalued and underappreciated library building into a new learning center where students can work collaboratively and at the same time establish a connection with surrounding buildings, circulation paths, and landscaping lacking in the original design. On its main level, the center—with its addition - now offers a large and flexible “information studio,” with a café, casual reading areas, meeting areas, group study rooms, digital project rooms, a gallery, and computer rooms.”
— Jury, 2006 AIA Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture, Interiors & Regional and Urban Design
Ann Beha Architects, now Annum Architects
Project Team
Robert Miklos FAIA, Jonathan Cutler AIA, Scott Slarsky AIA, Steven Gerrard AIA (ABA/Annum); Buckl Architects (Associate Architect); LeMessurier Consultants (Structural); Snyder Hoffman Associates (MEP / FP); Cherry, Weber & Associates (Civil); Richard Burck Associates, Inc. (Landscape); Cavanaugh Tocci Associates (Acoustics); Turner Construction Company (General Contractor); Florian Holzherr / Steve Wolfe (Photography)