Tucson, Arizona

The University of Arizona Poetry Center, one of the first and only buildings on any university campus dedicated solely to celebrating and advancing poetry and literature, provides a home for an outstanding collection of contemporary poetry, as well as a meeting place for students, visitors, writers and readers. Building form was inspired by programmatic contradictions such as the desire to read in day-lit garden space while at the same time maximizing preservation of the books by only allowing their use in ultraviolet-free, temperature-controlled environments. The building itself is organized as a progression from noisy, public gathering space to a quiet and more private contemplation garden. Of equal importance was the need to create gentle thermal and light transitions from inside to outside, blurring the distinction between garden and stack areas, protecting glass from direct sun and providing sheltered, tempered, outside gathering space.

The project has been named one of the nation’s notable Landmark Academic Libraries by Library Journal magazine.