The grand opening of the library took place on April 3 - the university leadership proudly presented an innovative building to the general public, designed to become a new symbol and the main information center of this one of the largest technical universities in the United States.
Designed for 1,700 readers, this library is very far from the image of traditional reading rooms. Of course, books and magazines are presented in its collections, but visitors can use all types of modern information carriers no less actively. And since working with many of them does not imply the obligatory privacy, chamber and quiet reading rooms here alternate with versatile open spaces, a variety of laboratories and spacious auditoriums. Most of these rooms face the main atrium, which is oval in plan and intended to be the focus of the main social life of the new library.
The atrium is connected to the upper floors of the building by a wide staircase painted in bright yellow. The architects also emphasize the dynamic diagonals of its marches with the help of long thin lamps - this solution makes the staircase the main vertical axis of the building and a very convenient reference point for numerous visitors, allowing them to instantly find their way inside the library. On the upper level of the building, the architects placed the Skyline Reading Room, which offers spectacular views of the university campus and Lake Raleigh from its windows or terrace.
The dynamic zigzag is also the basis for the architectural image of the building. Its facades are made of fritted glass, which the architects protect from excess sunlight with vertical aluminum slats. These elements are fixed at different angles of rotation, due to which characteristic "arrows" appear on the surface of the facade. As the authors of the project themselves admit, the facades designed in this way are designed to remind of the textile industry for which the state of North Carolina is traditionally famous.
