School of the Art Institute of Chicago John M. Flaxman Library & Special Collections Renovation

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago John M. Flaxman Library & Special Collections renovation reconceives of the library as the central hub of the school - a space for students to learn about each of the school's disciplines by bringing together two floors of library spaces visually and physically to create one connected library.

As an art school located in the heart of Chicago, the various anchor programs of the school are necessarily located on different levels of several tall buildings throughout the school’s campus.  It was important that the library function as the central hub of the school - where students from all disciplines can come to explore, research, and interact with Special Collections and Main Collections and learn about all of the disciplines of the school.

Located in the Sharp Building at 37 South Wabash in Chicago, the building was built in 1902 by Holabird & Roche Architects and, “constructed with the intent of being a location for learning”.  The design of the renovation efficiently works with the historic steel frame structure to connect the two levels of the library together and express the historic structure.

The project improved the fifth and sixth floors, created more community space, increased natural light, established a larger and more efficient Library Special Collections/Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection Reading Room for classes and individual researchers, and increased capacity. It also created a visual and physical connection between our two floors, making the Library easier to navigate and collections more accessible.