USFSP Nelson Poynter Library University of South Florida St. Petersburg

Client: University of South Florida St. Petersburg

Location: 140 7th Street Street St. Petersburg, FL

Site: The last existing waterfront site available on the campus, as well as an existing 26,000 square foot library building.

Program Challenge: To design a modern library equipped with the latest technology, and to transform the existing library into classrooms and student services and administrative space. It was also imperative that the new library design take full advantage of the waterfront site.

Solution: Rowe Architects designed a three-story, 81,000 square foot library that capitalized on the waterfront with views of the harbor from a variety of interior spaces, overlooks and a rooftop terrace. The building serves as a gateway from the water to the interior of the campus with visual and physical connections and access.

The building also incorporates existing colors, textures, and materials of the adjacent academic buildings for a seamless integration into the existing campus infrastructure. Inside, RAI designed a facility that would truly serve the university’s students and faculty well into the future. It included a generous number of workstations for computer aided research, as well as state-of-the-art digital library technology such as an extensive telecommunications/data wiring system with links to library information systems, campus telecommunications infrastructure, statewide on-line catalog and periodicals index, and off-campus remote databases. RAI also accommodated all of the library’s traditional materials and collections with ample stack and display areas, including a Special Collections Suite to house manuscripts, rare books and archives of the Nelson Poynter Collection as well as other significant institution-owned collections. The library also includes a Distance Learning Center to serve the university's multi-campus network and local public school districts.

RAI also used a passive shading strategy to minimize direct solar gains on the glazing. The strategy protects the library’s collections from UV radiation and also shields readers from glare.