Pedestrian Plaza and Welcome Center

Library and Learning Commons is designed to draw Pillsbury Music Center and Brown Hall into the Quad.A new pedestrian plaza to the north of the Library and Learning Commons is designed to draw Pillsbury Music Center and Brown Hall into the Quad and will make the entire heart of the campus pedestrian friendly. The Gano clock tower will be visible as visitors approach the Welcome Center from the east. The addition of new stairways, landscaping and a plaza on the eastern hillside approach to Jewell Hall will be developed to showcase the College’s most historically significant building.

The Library and Learning Commons' east façade, facing Greene Stadium and the College entrance, will be easily recognized by its prominent archway.

This will be home to the College Welcome Center, an impressive new “front door” for prospective students and community guests.

Consistent with the architectural identity of the 160-year-old hilltop campus, the architect’s working design utilizes exterior elements such as Jewell’s traditional red brick, columns, ornamentation and vertical presence from existing buildings to create the west façade of the new facility. The Library and Learning Commons is designed to support the College’s master plan with greater energy efficiency, new vehicle traffic patterns, additional green spaces and outdoor plazas, and the opportunity to make the heart of campus fully pedestrian.

William Jewell is designing a modern center for collaboration and engagement in response to the demands of global citizenship in the 21st century and the needs of the 21st century learner.

The College’s new Library and Learning Commons will transform the physical campus, host new programs, provide a technology-rich learning environment and support experiential education across the curriculum.