To support retail uses, exhibitions and immersive, interactive technologies, the 150,000-sq-ft Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons incorporates a variety of group study and instructional spaces in addition to areas aimed at promoting social interaction, including a café.
The desire to better understand the personal, social and academic needs of students prompted the design team to embark on a "visioning" process begun with benchmarking trips to state-of-the-art libraries across the nation. The team later expanded its research to include retail, museum and hospitality spaces.