Northeastern University, Snell Experiential Library

Boston, Massachusetts

Firm

CBT Architects

Client

Northeastern University

Area

77,911 sq.ft.

Completion Date

01/2019

Robert Benson Photography

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Design Team
CBT: Paul Viccica, Lois Goodell, Alicia Kosasih, Natalia Goodall; Skanska (General Contractor); R.W. Sullivan (MEP)

In a networked world, the traditional role of academic libraries has changed significantly. Increased use of digital resources and emphasis on innovative, entrepreneurial, and collaborative learning demand hybrid, customizable spaces to support new approaches to research and learning. The renovation of Northeastern University’s Snell Library enables the facility to better position its resources as a physical and virtual intercultural hub connecting instructors, researchers, learners, and industry partners. The new library’s reimagined third and fourth floors introduce modular, flexible, and technology-rich spaces, including a 40,000-square-foot Innovation Space, where students can innovate and collaborate. Furniture typologies provide individual, focused, and collaborative work zones, and customizable learning spaces facilitate experiential research and interaction across a global network. New and emerging modes of research and scholarship, including digital humanities, are made visible and approachable. The library design reflects the university’s goal of “learning any time, from anywhere, with anyone,” and provides an adaptable physical environment that supports participatory knowledge, experiential learning, and innovation.