Charles Library at Temple University Opens to Critical Acclaim
LERA's project team were on hand for the grand opening of the Charles Library at Temple University. The celebration was attended by students, alumni, the design team, and locals who all came to celebrate the new library serving Temple University.
Above: Project Manager, Eddy Roberts at center celebrates the Charles Library opening with Design Engineer, Yue Zhao at right and Director of Marketing, Carrie Villani.
Above: The atrium filled with guests to see the Charles Library opening.
LERA is the structural engineer for this new 225,000-sf (20,900-sm), visually and spatially diverse library, set to revitalize Temple University’s North Philadelphia campus. The block-long building features a 3-story domed-atrium with clear spans of up to 100 ft, a large front arch that cantilevers off of the building, green roofs and an outdoor balcony offering cross-campus views. The entire structure of the building was designed to support the weight of the building-wide green roof. The structural system includes long-span structural steel trusses and steel framing. The library offers quiet study and reading spaces, large meeting rooms, areas for special events and technology-related activities (such as data visualization and 3D printing) and a state-of-the-art automated book bot storage and retrieval system stores nearly 2 million volumes in bins stacked three stories high, opening up program space for other functions in the core of the library.
Read what critics have to say about the Charles Library.
Read more about Temple's Book Bot (above right) here:
