UMass Dartmouth Claire T. Carney Library Recognized by Architecture Industry Leaders
UMass Dartmouth's Claire T. Carney Library architects, designLAB, were recently presented with a series of awards at annual design award ceremonies. At the 34th Annual Interior Awards, hosted by Contract Magazine and the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) 3rd Design Awards Gala, the Claire T. Carney Library renovation and addition received recognition among architecture and design industry leaders.
DesignLAB architects were winners in the Education category at the 34th Annual Interior Awards, hosted by Contract Magazine. The Interiors Awards is judged by a select group of respected design industry leaders and offers recognition in an array of market sectors and is the only juried program to offer recognition of design by category.
At the BSA Design awards, designLAB took home two awards. In the Education Facilities Design category, they were awarded the Citation for Transformative Addition to an Existing Building. In the Honor Awards for Design Excellence, designLAB architects and Austin Architects, received the Hobson award, named for Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson, which is the highest level of award given to honor award winners in each category of the BSA Design Awards.
The Claire T. Carney Library's transformation was completed in spring 2013, culminating a three-year, $48 million renovation, involving state government, designLAB, Austin Architects and Consigli Construction. The revamped Library refocuses on a broader understanding of the needs of students and the library itself - keeping the books and periodicals, but also including new computers and technology, as well as places to study, meet, and relax.
The renovation and addition has been recognized in prominent architecture and design publications, including American Libraries, Contract Magazine, Architectural Record,
Metropolis, and American Architects Building of the Week.
Paul Rudolph, the original architect of the campus, was one of the leading architects in America in the 1950s and 60s. He designed UMass Dartmouth with a library at the very center of campus, which was in line with his overall vision of creating an academic utopia. The campus design was considered ground-breaking in its day and its spirit lives on in the reimagined Claire T. Carney Library.
The Library houses computer labs, study spaces, lecture halls, conference rooms, the Congressman Barney Frank Collection, a student veterans reading room, the Grand Reading Room, and the very popular Living Room, which, like many spaces within the library, serves as an academic and social gathering place.
The renovation of the Claire T. Carney Library is part of a series of recent investments aimed at expanding opportunity for UMass Dartmouth students and faculty. Completed projects include the new and revamped Fitness Center, the Hall-Hildreth IDEAStudio, and the College of Nursing's Elisabeth A. Pennington Simulation Laboratory. The Massachusetts Accelerator for Biomanufacturing is scheduled to open in the coming weeks. In October of this year, Governor Deval Patrick announced funding for a new academic building at UMass Dartmouth that will support the campus's growing enrollment. In addition, there are plans for expansion of the Charlton College of Business and the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST).