{"id":7378,"date":"2026-04-17T16:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/?p=7378"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:23:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T15:23:47","slug":"gbbn-revamps-and-extends-brutalist-hillman-library-in-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/gbbn-revamps-and-extends-brutalist-hillman-library-in-pittsburgh\/","title":{"rendered":"GBBN revamps and extends brutalist Hillman Library in Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hillman<\/div>\n

International architecture studio GBBN<\/a> has renovated<\/a> a 1960s library<\/a> at the University of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, USA, adding a stacked-glass extension, to act as a central hub for students. <\/span><\/p>\n

The new 230,000-square-foot (21,365-square-metre) Hillman Library<\/a> opened in 2025, transforming a 1968 design by local mid-century studio Celli-Flynn & Associates into 21st-century academic infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\"Hillman
GBBN has transformed a 1960s library for the University of Pittsburgh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

GBBN<\/a>, which is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, aimed to create an environment where all students can carve out a space for themselves, GBBN associate Sarah Kusuma Rubritz told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“At Hillman Library, students have a place where they feel connected to their work, their school, their peers, to the expertise of the librarians and the larger community,” Rubritz said. “The library welcomes and includes everyone, allowing them to follow their passions.”<\/p>\n

\"Hillman
It was designed as a knowledge hub for university students<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Previously, the brutalist building was more enclosed, and private offices and study carrels restricted natural light for the spaces, previously centred around book stacks.<\/p>\n

Now, with a large portion of the collection moved from the main building, the library is more light-filled with group study spaces on multiple floors, collaborative classrooms and makerspaces.<\/p>\n

\"Interior
GBBN added a floating staircase to the interior<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A floating monumental staircase breaks the previous symmetrical layout into a circulation spine that arranges spaces intuitively from the prominent entrance, deep into the library.<\/p>\n

“The stair brings intuitiveness through its visibility and its strategic orientation to programmatic elements arrayed around it,” the studio said.<\/p>\n