{"id":103,"date":"2009-04-06T08:20:45","date_gmt":"2009-04-06T15:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/blog\/?p=103"},"modified":"2009-04-06T18:56:31","modified_gmt":"2009-04-07T01:56:31","slug":"libraries-i-like-browns-friedman-study-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miriamposner.com\/blog\/libraries-i-like-browns-friedman-study-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Libraries I like: Brown’s Friedman Study Center"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Bright<\/a>
Bright colors make a big difference. Photo by the Brown University Class of '60.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I liked Yale’s Mudd Library<\/a> for its endearing obsolescence, but for the Study Space of the Future, you can’t beat the Friedman Study Center<\/a> in Brown University’s Science Library.<\/p>\n

The Friedman Study Center, which opened in 2007, is a 24-hour study space designed by the Architecture Research Office<\/a>. It’s in the basement of Brown’s Science Library, a Brutalist monster that’s about as inviting as a prison. The study center, though, plays against the cave-like, concrete walls of the library with exposed cables, bright colors, and an open atmosphere.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The scary exterior of the Brown Science Library. Photo from Wikipedia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The study center’s in the basement, but it offers plenty of natural light (a big necessity for me) thanks to walls of glass opening on sunken courtyards. It’s divided into a number of “microenvironments,” each marked with the permissible decibel level: computer clusters, study spaces, gathering areas, group study rooms. The lobby entrance to the Science Library houses a cafe and bright, comfortable furniture.<\/p>\n

Several things really make the study center work for me.<\/p>\n