University planning Hunt Library for Centennial
New facility projected to open in 2012, renovations to D.H. Hill also in the works
Chris Allred
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: News
The new James B. Hunt Jr. Library on Centennial Campus has a total projected cost of $114 million and should be completed by Dec. 27, 2012, according to Susan Nutter, vice provost and director of libraries.
The N.C. General Assembly appropriated $17 million for the project.
The University also chose architectural firm Snohetta to design the library, which Nutter said will serve as a social and intellectual center for students.
"It's going to feel more like a campus I think, if we get it right," Nutter said. "We have to get it right."
The library will primarily focus on the students that come to Centennial most often -- engineering, textile and life-science majors -- but Nutter said the University wants to open more space for other types of students on Centennial Campus as well.
"The chancellor and provost are interested for [humanities and liberal arts majors] to get a foot in the door of Centennial Campus," she said.
The College of Textiles library will move to the new library, and the current Textile library's building will be used for design studio space, according to Carolyn Axtman, design project manager.
The Hunt Library will be built on the southern part of the Oval on Centennial Campus, but Axtman said the University architects have not determined the exact location yet.
The architects are in the earliest planning stages, Axtman said, and the first step is programming and site analysis. This includes determining the needs of possible users of the library and looking at a site for where roads and utilities should be placed, she said.
Work on the planning will continue into the spring before the architects begin design, which will take two years, she said.
Jessie Stewart, an engineering alumna, said the facility could be helpful to those on Centennial Campus, but she did not notice a void without it.
"I never felt that disconnected from campus," she said.
The Institute for Emerging Issues, a North Carolina think tank, will be an important part of the library when it is built. According to the group's Web site, the IEI tackles critical issues and pulls experts to work around a certain issue every year.
The N.C. General Assembly appropriated $17 million for the project.
The University also chose architectural firm Snohetta to design the library, which Nutter said will serve as a social and intellectual center for students.
"It's going to feel more like a campus I think, if we get it right," Nutter said. "We have to get it right."
The library will primarily focus on the students that come to Centennial most often -- engineering, textile and life-science majors -- but Nutter said the University wants to open more space for other types of students on Centennial Campus as well.
"The chancellor and provost are interested for [humanities and liberal arts majors] to get a foot in the door of Centennial Campus," she said.
The College of Textiles library will move to the new library, and the current Textile library's building will be used for design studio space, according to Carolyn Axtman, design project manager.
The Hunt Library will be built on the southern part of the Oval on Centennial Campus, but Axtman said the University architects have not determined the exact location yet.
The architects are in the earliest planning stages, Axtman said, and the first step is programming and site analysis. This includes determining the needs of possible users of the library and looking at a site for where roads and utilities should be placed, she said.
Work on the planning will continue into the spring before the architects begin design, which will take two years, she said.
Jessie Stewart, an engineering alumna, said the facility could be helpful to those on Centennial Campus, but she did not notice a void without it.
"I never felt that disconnected from campus," she said.
The Institute for Emerging Issues, a North Carolina think tank, will be an important part of the library when it is built. According to the group's Web site, the IEI tackles critical issues and pulls experts to work around a certain issue every year.
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