Before its transformation, the Flaxman Library at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago was typical of many similar institutions. Much used, well loved – but stuck in the past. Drab ceiling panels, garish paint finishes, aggressive carpet tile. On the fifth floor, a corridor with no access to natural light delineated the special collections and librarian areas, effectively cloistering them; on the sixth floor, the main collection was housed in a space that, although benefitting from a window wall, felt weighed down by heavy bands of yellow-framed lighting overhead. Worst of all, the two levels, linked only by elevators and egress stairs, were visually and functionally cut off from each other.

A sixth floor reading room in the newly renovated Flaxman Library at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

A steel-plate staircase now connects the two floors of the Flaxman Library.

When it was brought on board, local architecture firm Kwong Von Glinow (founded in 2017 by Lap Chi Kwong and Alison Von Glinow) faced the foremost objective of connecting the two levels, thereby injecting a sense of openness into the library. In essence, they were carving a new heart into the library to make the siloed spaces whole.

Aptly, the architects describe the renovation as radically proposing an “open book” approach to the spatial experience, which puts both the collections and the work of the librarians preserving them on view. Working within the constraints of the 1902 Sharp Building, they highlighted the attributes of the original Chicago steel-frame structure. Along the way, the firm has also crafted refined details, with moves that elevate every aspect of the interior, old and new.

The fifth floor of the Flaxman Library benefits from the lozenge-shaped atrium carved into the floor above and the addition of the Corridor+ feature.

The perforated pattern of the transom above the sawtooth glazed wall of the corridor, along with the black stair, add a graphic punch to the minimal interior.

The big move was the creation of an atrium: On the sixth floor (which is the main level, featuring the lobby and circulation desk), Kwong Von Glinow introduced a lozenge-shaped opening into the floor plate, “punctuated by the original cross beams of the building.” Enclosed by an elegant white balustrade with white oak handrails, it provides a view to the floor below. Another white railing wraps the opening where a dramatic steel-plate staircase, finished with a natural patina that exposes its weld joints, grants new circulation access between the levels. Held off the ground by half an inch, the bold black staircase appears to float.

A series of spaces, from main reading stacks to study rooms, are integrated along the Corridor+.

The fifth floor now features what the architects call Corridor+, an expansive and evocatively curving hallway with access to a series of spaces: the main collections stacks (with more on the sixth floor), the special collections stacks, the reading room and the librarian and other workstations (which also have additional space on the upper level). These rooms are delineated by a sawtooth wall of glazing topped with a perforated transom. It makes for a dynamic, energetic spatial layout.

While the open corridor allows for the natural light from the south façade to penetrate its 45-metre span, the transom also has embedded functionality: It supplies and returns the air for the floor and conceals sprinkler heads, thereby freeing the corridor of exposed piping and ductwork. It also creates a graphic focal point – an expressive moment that, paired with the black steel stair, balances out the almost all-white interior.

Like the best renovations of beloved reading hubs, the new Flaxman Library is designed to last. It preserves what makes libraries great – access to readily available texts across multiple media – while also providing an inspiring experience in which to research, study and meet up with friends. For the students of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, this revitalization of a space that once felt dated and compressed must feel like a breath of fresh air.