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Community College of
Philadelphia Library
Philadelphia, PA

Architecture
Adaptive Re-use
38,000 SF

Sonja Bijelić, AIA
(Designed while an Associate at
RMJM Hillier)

The renovation of the historic U.S. Mint Building considerably increased the size of this urban college library, using strictly limited resources to create space for computers, books, films, and periodicals for the large student body the College serves. By creating a new mezzanine level, panoramic views of the City are now more visible, connecting the College and its multinational student body to the heart of downtown.

The library is located in several buildings at 17th and Spring Garden Streets in downtown Philadelphia, a complex of more than 38,000 square feet. Originally built for the manufacturing of coins, the Mint Building’s load-bearing capacity is unusually strong and the ceiling is particularly high, qualities that the architects were able to work to the College’s advantage. The mezzanine level that was created in the building added approximately 6,000 square feet of new space. In order to complete the project while the building was occupied, construction phasing was extremely important, and the supporting steel frames for the mezzanine were positioned through the windows of the existing building, so as to avoid closing the library while construction was in progress.

The renovated space contains stacks for a collection of 125,000 volumes, 500 periodicals and newspapers, microfilm, slides, films, audio-visual aids and equipment, a large reference area, conference room, office space, library instruction room, seating for over 600 students including carrel, lounge and table seating, and seating for group studies.

Community College of Philadelphia is the third largest degree-granting institution in the City of Philadelphia, enrolling 46,000 students annually at more than 20 locations throughout the Philadelphia region.