匹兹堡希尔曼图书馆改造与扩建项目丨美国匹兹堡丨GBBN

International architecture studio GBBN has renovated a 1960s library at the University of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, USA, adding a stacked-glass extension, to act as a central hub for students.

The new 230,000-square-foot (21,365-square-metre) Hillman Library opened in 2025, transforming a 1968 design by local mid-century studio Celli-Flynn & Associates into 21st-century academic infrastructure.

GBBN has transformed a 1960s library for the University of Pittsburgh

GBBN, which is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, aimed to create an environment where all students can carve out a space for themselves, GNNB associate architect Sarah Kusuma Rubritz told Dezeen.

"At Hillman Library, students have a place where they feel connected to their work, their school, their peers, to the expertise of the librarians and the larger community," Rubritz said. "The library welcomes and includes everyone, allowing them to follow their passions."

It was designed as a knowledge hub for university students

Previously, the brutalist building was more enclosed, and private offices and study carrels restricted natural light for the spaces, previously centred around book stacks.

Now, with a large portion of the collection moved from the main building, the library is more light-filled with group study spaces on multiple floors, collaborative classrooms and makerspaces.

GBBN added a floating staircase to the interior

A floating monumental staircase breaks the previous symmetrical layout into a circulation spine that arranges spaces intuitively from the prominent entrance, deep into the library.

"The stair brings intuitiveness through its visibility and its strategic orientation to programmatic elements arrayed around it," the studio said.

The renovation reorganised the library around three key program enhancements: the creation of digital assets, the discovery of the library's many resources and spaces that prompt discourse and the dissemination of interdisciplinary research.

By softening the Brutalist style with a cantilevered, fritted glass entry, the studio kept most of the exterior materiality, while creating a beacon on the campus that can be illuminated at night.

GBBN also strengthened the library's connections to campus with terraces, plazas and outdoor seating.

Spaces were brightened with a material palette of glass, wood and stone

On the interior, the studio brightened up the spaces with glass, wood and natural stone – placed strategically near the special collections and cafe space.

The activity and volume of each floor determined each colour palette, with vibrant hues on the busy ground floor and muted colours on the upper levels for silent study.

The team used reclaimed materials, including limestone, granite and original stone signage and flooring where possible, to reduce the project's carbon footprint.

Outdoor terraces were designed to connect the building with the wider campus

The project is certified LEED Platinum with a 250-kilowatt rooftop photovoltaic array and a green roof that tops the entry volume.

"Twenty-first-century students don't just consume knowledge, they generate it," GBBN principal Matthew Plecity said.

"The design goal for Hillman Library was to provide the infrastructure to support this transformation, while also crafting an environment that was more connected to nature and thoroughly connected to the surrounding urban fabric, the broader campus community and the city itself."

Previously, GBBN completed three brick affordable housing buildings that both fit in and stand out of their context in Cincinnati and expanded a 19th-century home in Pennsylvania into an educational facility with a glass bridge.

The photography is by Brad Feinknopf.

Project credits:

GBBN design team: Matthew Plecity, Sarah Kusuma Rubritz, Mick McNutt Anne Chen, Marc Janty, Christopher Guignon, Julia Clements, Daniel Luegering, Katie Coulson Structural: Buro Happold MEP: CJL Sustainability: Evolve EA Civil: Gateway Landscape: Pitt/GBBN