Introducing A New Type of Library

Working with leadership teams from North Carolina State University Libraries and the Institute for Emerging Issues in Raleigh, we’ve played a number of roles involving the introduction of the new James B. Hunt Jr. library which opened earlier this year to great acclaim.

Designed by Snøhetta with Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee, the building reimagines what a modern library can be. It’s a forward-thinking facility that encourages teamwork and scholarship through the use of innovative technology and collaborative workspaces.

Features of the Hunt library include immersive video experience theaters, clusters of glass walled collaboration suites, and an underground Automatic Book Delivery System (ABDS) we named the bookBot.

Our work began in early 2012 when we developed a pair of informative case statement publications to aid in raising funds for the library’s technology features and interior furnishings. The centerpiece of the program was the development of an expandable project overview brochure that unfolded to suggest the library’s complex interweaving of space and information. 

Our next assignment was the development of the library’s dedication signage program, comprising a system of inscriptions that could be integrated within both interior and exterior spaces. As part of our work we developed a customized version of the Vista sans typeface that could be laser cut to various depths and applied to walls and bench surfaces in order to fuse with the architecture.

The main donor wall features individuals’ names applied to an array of oversized glass panels. University requirements stipulate the use of a consistent type size for donor inscriptions, so we developed a system where varying categories of donations are indicated by differing depths of letterforms.

The library’s study areas feature Herman Miller workstations, for which we were commissioned to develop a series of scrim textile designs.

For the design of the fabric, we took as our inspiration “The Color Wall,” a 1972 kinetic light sculpture by artist and designer Joe Cox (below). The installation is a landmark feature of the D. H. Hill library, NC State University’s flagship library facility, and we decided that using similar imagery would be a good way to suggest the linking of the two libraries' missions. 

As an added bonus, the vertical stripes within our homage echo the exterior fins of the Hunt Library. We created 62 unique patterned panels, ensuring that no two workspaces are the same.

The Hunt Library does not have a traditional wayfinding signage system. It’s a fairly intuitive space, and repeat visitors know exactly where they need to go. First-time guests can find their way around the library with a handy reference card that we developed. We based the idea on that of an airline evacuation card, ruthlessly editing down the content in order to provide the basics required to help people navigate.

Here's a final component of the program: A dedication book that serves as a summation of the process of imagining and building the Hunt Library. The piece comes with an embossed ribbed outer slipcase that is based on a photograph of the building’s exterior structure. We helped envision and write the document, addressing the challenge of conveying the spirit and excitement of a technologically-advanced piece of architecture through the traditional medium of the printed page.