Georgia Gwinnett College Library and Learning Center
CREATING A STATE-OF-THE-ART LEARNING CENTER THROUGH SUSTAINABLE DESIGN AND HIGH-PERFORMING PRODUCTS
Nestled in the lush green campus of Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) in Lawrenceville, Georgia, is the state-of-the-art library and learning center designed to serve as the intellectual center of the 8,000-student campus. To meet the social and academic needs of the large community as well as allow for campus-wide growth and success, the building was constructed using several Kawneer products to integrate the daylight needed for a studious environment within a physical structure that effectively shields the library’s delicate contents from environmental factors.
The Atlanta office of architecture, planning, engineering, interior design and program management firm LEO A DALY was selected to design a space that brought the feeling of being outside directly into the building. The college envisioned a library that would fit a “campus of tomorrow.” It was important for both the college and the project team to build a library that had world-class facilities while meeting the standards of sustainable design. Lithonia, Georgia-based Glass Systems, Inc. was selected as the project’s glazing contractor, and The Potts Company, headquartered in Conyers, Georgia, served as the project’s general contractor.
The result was a 95,000-square-foot, technologically advanced knowledge center that incorporates individual and group study spaces, reading rooms and classrooms as well as a café and general multipurpose room, which can be used by campus organizations for meetings or events. The GGC Library and Learning Center has achieved LEED®* Gold certification, making it one of only seven academic libraries in the nation to do so. The GGC Library used more than 20 percent recycled products and just as many regional products, thereby reducing waste and transportation emissions.
