This project is a re-imagination of Bird Library located on the Syracuse University campus. The design seeks to establish a clear identity of the library as a center of knowledge.

The existing structure is used as a basis for the design, but an atrium is carved through the center of the space, connecting the campus to Walnut Park and splitting the building in two. The building’s facades are conceptualized to be cognizant of its program and context. The interior facade of the atrium creates an inner public space that continues the urban condition through the building. The west interior face is imagined as a stack of books mirroring the program behind. The opposing side of the atrium space retains the grid structure inherent in the existing library.

Binary Library is an expression of its programmatic and spatial logic. The intention of each side is disseminated throughout, from the plan to the tectonic expression of each facade. In total, the formal and aesthetic identity of the library is reclaimed, its intention contextualized to the campus.