Completion nears on $18 million Southern New Hampshire University Library and Learning Commons building

Starting in the fall of 2014, Southern New Hampshire University will be offering its growing student population a new Library and Learning Commons building. SNHU is a private, non-profit university, with over 80 years of experience in post-secondary education. The campus is located in Manchester and Hooksett. The new Library and Learning Commons will provide a beautiful facility for students to conduct their academic work. In addition to housing the library, the learning commons will also include an IT help desk, the learning center, a café, and a media production suite. The new space will also provide additional areas for private and group study to the student body. This 50,000 s/f, $18 million building was designed by a collaboration of Boston-based architect Perry Dean Rogers | Partners Architects, landscape architect Carol R. Johnson Associates, and civil engineers TFMoran of Bedford, N.H. The facility is currently under construction and will be open for the fall semester. The general contractor is Harvey Construction of Bedford. "Siting the new 3-story building was critical," said Jeff Kevan, project manager for TFMoran, "The site for the new learning commons was chosen to be in the center of the campus, next to the recently constructed dining hall. This central 'campus core' helps make SNHU a walkable campus, eliminating the need for new, dedicated parking for this facility. This means we were able to reduce the amount of impervious surfaces that would typically be necessary for a new library of this size." Kevan said, "Other sustainable features built into this project include a bio-retention area, where stormwater runoff is treated by passing through a natural filter of wetland-type soils before releasing to the environment. We also took a significant portion of the runoff volume, including the entire roof of the building, and used it for groundwater recharge, rather than increasing runoff." In addition to site design, TFMoran was responsible for survey and environmental permitting including local planning board and state stormwater and wastewater approvals. TFMoran continues to work with Perry Dean Rogers | Partners Architects and Harvey Construction during the construction phase of the project. Sustainable design is a key feature of all SNHU projects. Paul LeBlanc, the university's president, is one of the signatories of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment, and in 2007 SNHU became the first carbon-neutral university in New Hampshire. "In addition to the compact footprint, the shape and orientation of the building was chosen to maximize solar exposure and save several stands of mature pine trees," said Kevan. The library supports all SNHU students whether they are online or on campus. Using innovative services and technologies, the library delivers information and instruction necessary for academic success and lifelong learning. The library provides online access to and instruction on leading business, education, arts and sciences databases. This selection of over 100 databases contains full-text journals, magazines, reports and newspapers chosen to support the curriculum. In the off-chance a student needs an article or book not available in one of the online databases, The library's Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery system obtains the students request and sends it electronically (or via mail for students living off-campus). SNHU is a private, non-profit university, with over 80 years of experience making education affordable and accessible for everyone.