Overview
The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library is a 61,719 gross square foot new building addition to the University’s library facilities. The design features a storage facility and automated storage retrieval system capable of housing the equivalent of 3.5 million volumes in a 50-foot deep underground facility topped by an elliptical glass-domed structure. The facility ground floor houses collection service areas, a reading room, and Library preservation/conservation facilities. The Mansueto Library was constructed to the west of the Joseph Regenstein Library along 57th Street and Ellis Avenue and is connected to the Regenstein Library building by a bridge.
Renderings courtesy of Murphy/Jahn Architects; selected photographs courtesy of the University of Chicago Library
Project Team
- Project Manager: Mike Natarus
- Assistant Project Manager: Cotter Consulting
- Architect: Helmut Jahn, Murphy/Jahn Architects
- Construction Manager: Barton Malow
Milestones
Past Milestones:
- December 2009: Basement floor completed.
- April 2010: Ground floor concrete installed; dome scaffolding installed.
- August 2010: Dome steel framing completed.
- September 2010: Dome glass installation completed.
- Winter 2011: Completion of underground Automated Storage Retrieval System installation.
- Spring 2011: Building opened.
Photos
![Overhead view of library](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/facilities/featuredprojects/Mansueto__rossiter_020.jpg?mtime=1412591640)
Exterior view.
![View of library from 57th Street.](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Exterior view.
![View of library from corner](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Exterior view.
![Library at dusk](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Exterior view.
![Library at dusk](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Exterior view.
![The Mansueto Library at sunset (Photo by Tom Rossiter)](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Exterior view.
![Library signage](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Exterior view.
![Library signage and window](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Exterior view.
![Connection tunnel - Regenstein to Mansueto](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Tunnel connecting Mansueto to Regenstein.
![Book retrieval system](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Book storage area and retrieval system.
![Book storage system](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Book storage.
![Book retrieval system](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Book retrieval system.
![Reading room](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Reading room.
![Reading room](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Reading room.
![Reading room at dusk](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Reading room.
![Entry to reading room interior](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Reading room.
![Book conservation area](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Conservation area