Since the 1900s, South Bend’s Main Library—part of the St. Joe County Public Library system—has been a critical anchor in downtown South Bend, Indiana. Faced with growing commercial and residential activity, along with a need to provide new and additional services to the main branch’s wide-ranging visitors, St. Joseph County, the City of South Bend, and the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County identified a unique opportunity to usher the library into a new era.
Together, they engaged award-winning New York–based architecture firm Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) to renovate and modernize the existing library and also transform an adjacent vacant lot into a brand new, 40,000-square-foot Community Learning Center with an outdoor courtyard. Over the past decade, South Bend’s downtown has been undergoing exciting revitalization, spurred by new investment, population growth, and urban activity. With more than 1,000 daily visitors in a city of 100,000 residents, the Main Library—which occupies a 3.4-acre block in the heart of the city—is a key node of activity in downtown and an economic driver for other local businesses.
Located on the east side of Michigan Street, the new standalone Community Learning Center has given a once-vacant lot a strong civic presence that is both pedestrian friendly and extends urban activity further down the street. This new center expands the library’s mission to include essential services and spaces for digital equity, career advancement, and meetings.
The design of this addition is informed by the surrounding architectural context and local materials. The exterior facade of buff-colored brick recalls the city’s historic train station, along with other brick and limestone buildings found in downtown South Bend. Terra-cotta panels from the Avon Theater, which had been razed in 2012, were salvaged and repurposed into the center’s facade. The new Community Learning Center not only includes offices, classrooms, study spaces, and a coffee shop, but also a large computer lab and technology center with an attached makerspace. The computer lab provides city residents with free access to essential services and career advancement opportunities. Similarly, the technology center includes recording studios, camera equipment, Adobe Creative Cloud software, and even 3D-printing services and classes.
During a series of public forums, the community expressed a need for accessible, flexible spaces to help local small-business owners. Addressing this need, the expanded center houses a range of free meeting rooms, along with a rentable event space. The existing library is connected to the new Community Learning Center via a large south-facing courtyard. By separating the original library from the center, more natural light is brought inside, enhancing views and creating a strong visual relationship between the indoors and outdoors.
This much-needed greenspace at the center of the city has become an important public amenity filled with landscaping and public seating. The space, which is ringed by a glass arcade, has been designed with flexibility in mind, allowing it to serve different functions at various times of day. Much like the library, this new courtyard has become an important community space that is consistently vibrant, from the downtown workers who lunch there to the performances and community gatherings that take place in the evenings.
Team:
Architect: Robert A.M. Stern Architects
Client: St. Joseph County, City of South Bend, Community Foundation of St. Joseph County
Architect of Record: Arkos Design
Collaborators: Boss Design
Photography: Miller + Miller Architectural Photography
Material Used:
1. Library Building: Cast-In Place Concrete with Brick Cavity Wall
2. New Community Learning Center Building: Steel Frame with Brick Cavity Wall
EXTERIOR BUILDING MATERIALS
1. Library Building: Red brick and limestone exterior; Replaced glass block-filled openings with medium bronze powder-coated aluminum curtain wall
2. Community Learning Center Building: Exterior walls:Buff-Colored Modular Brick Blend (inspired by South Bend’s Union Station), Cast Stone Trim, Granite Watertable
3. Windows: Medium bronze powder-coated aluminum windows and curtainwall frames with Low-E Glass
4. Roofs: Grey-green Vermont natural slate, Standing seam metal roof (at Cupola), Ribbed and flat sheet membrane roofs (Gallery roofs and other flat roof locations), Concrete pedestal paver system at 3rd Floor Terrace
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURAL MATERIALS
1. Terrazzo floors and stair treads and risers, Stainless steel and glass railings at monumental stair, Clear white oak or painted Low VOC carpets, paints, and sealants, throughout, pine millwork and doors
