DePauw Roy O. West Library

DePauw Roy O. West Library

Greencastle, IN

DePauw University selected RATIO to renovate its Roy O. West Library and explore solutions to modernize the building through the integration of cutting-edge technology. As a small, highly competitive liberal arts institution of 2,300 students, the university sought to update the library’s existing structure while continuing to honor the traditions of its distinctive campus experience. Dedicated in 1956, the library anchors the inner quadrangle at the heart of the university’s Greencastle campus. The building’s interior spaces have not been renovated since 1986, before the advent of new technologies that are now crucial to the modern academic experience.

Client
DePaw University
Size
92,602 SF
Complete
2022

To create design concepts for the project, RATIO conducted visioning sessions and interviews with students, faculty and staff. The new library design will include enhanced facilities; an academic technology commons with digital production and visualization labs; new collaborative study, teaching and event spaces; exterior spaces featuring an event terrace and garden study area; a signature two-story reading room; and improvements to the university’s high-tech Tenzer Technology Center. The renovated facility will provide students with the educational tools they need to succeed and more accurately reflect DePauw’s mission.