Emory University recently rediscovered its magnificent Matheson Reading Room, a lofty space built for serious, soaring thought beneath its two-story high ceiling. The reading room is the centerpiece of an extensive $17.6 million renovation that restored the Asa Griggs Candler Library, one of the university’s oldest buildings, to its original historical grandeur after nearly 18 months of work. The library reopened for business in fall 2003, and today is one of the most popular spots on campus for students to study and work.
The restored reading room is a far cry from the cramped quarters that existed after a 1956 renovation divided the space horizontally in half to provide more floor space. Those floors, previously home to a maze of cubicles and book-stacks, have been ripped out. Original plaster columns were uncovered and carefully preserved. Workers also restored interior windows on the fourth floor that now overlook the room as well as large, arched exterior windows that flood the space with natural light. And although wireless Internet access is provided, the look of the room is virtually indistinguishable from when it originally opened in 1926.
In one of many architectural touches, the troops of Alexander the Great are again brandishing sword and shield in a plaster frieze depicting “The Triumph of Alexander” high along the walls of the reading room’s lobby. The frieze’s 26 panels faded from the university’s memory after they disappeared during renovations in the 1950s. They were later found in the library’s attic and are now back in their original place.
The effort was a combination of preservation and modernization (including a two-story addition to the back) that also used environmentally responsible green-building principles from start to finish. An important aspect of the project was the implementation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) principles throughout the design and construction of both the renovation and the new addition.
The library recently received LEED silver certification. All total, Emory is home to 11 buildings that have been, or are being, designed and renovated or constructed according to LEED principles, for a total of about 1.1 million square feet--or 25 acres. As of fall 2005, Emory claims four of the 39 new LEED-certified facilities built on college campuses across the country.
For a more comprehensive look at the renovation, go to: http://www.emory.edu/COLLEGE/candler/.
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Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For more than a decade Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.
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