FAMU Coleman Library

The 5 story, $6,840,000.00, Coleman Library expansion consists of approximately 47,000 square feet. The purpose of the addition is to provide additional room for an increasing book collection.

The expansion is configured in a manner which allows for the effective enclosure of an exterior courtyard. The courtyard is conceived as an exterior “room” which will allow for shaded outdoor reading and study areas. Interspersed within these areas will be sculptural displays provided by local artists.

The iconography of the new building attempts to reconcile disparate stylistic elements dating back to the original 1949 building, with 1970’s and 1980’s additions. The exterior elevations respond in massing and general character with the existing building. Although a similar brick size and color have been used as a way of tying the new addition into the existing fabric, the nature of the brick detailing and the use of constructional elements such as exposed channels and wide flange beams lend the building a distinctive, contemporary character.

Window glazing varies according to building orientation , with smaller openings and Low-E coatings on the west side and a highly transparent curtainwall system on the protected east side of the building.