UT Knoxville Hodges Library One Stop
UT HODGES LIBRARY ONE STOP
YEAR:
2013
LOCATION:
Knoxville, TN
SIZE:
2,750 sf
As part of The University of Tennessee’s larger strategic goal to be a Top 25 school, the administration sought to better support and improve services for students by creating the One Stop, a central location on campus where the most frequently needed services; enrollment, financial aid, bill payment, and registration, are streamlined in a user-friendly combination of digital interfaces and face-to-face consultation. The resultant interior intervention deftly integrates contemporary technology and spaces for personal interaction in a visually compelling way.
Located in the lower terminus of the central atrium of Hodges Library, the One Stop Shop occupies a highly-trafficked space with soaring ceilings. Four large, simple, and self-illuminated forms act as visual beacons for the shop and lend a strong presence to the new design within the grand existing space. These forms define spaces for the freestanding kiosks housing touch-screen digital interfaces.
Adjacent to the kiosks are spaces designed for personal consultation. The minimally-framed glazing that defines these areas speaks to the sense of openness the administration sought in the physical realization of its new program. The help students seek through the One Stop Shop is on full display, and is reinforced by an architectural statement that is both visually striking and aesthetically understated.