Bright and inviting: Marquardt Middle School renovations highlight library media center, reflect student potential, and promote staff well-being
A new, 3,800-square-foot library media center opens to Marquardt Middle School’s main lobby. The renovation transforms a solid wall into a 49-foot-long (glass) curtain wall that not only fills the library with daylight but also showcases the library as students enter the school.
During programming meetings, staff members stated they wanted the space to resemble a modern coffeehouse. The design uses everything from ceiling baffles and lighting pendants to benches, booths, and worktables to create a café-like feel. Designers also minimized and lowered shelving to boost daylight and outdoor views.
Colorful finishes and furnishings encourage students to spend time in different zones based on their learning styles. Blue “portals,” for example, connect the corridor and a circular reading area. The library media center also houses the glass-enclosed learning lab and a sunken area that welcomes classroom activities.
Legat designed wall graphics showing students blended with influential historic figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Frida Kahlo, Rosa Parks, and Amelia Earhart.
Other project components:
- New staff lounge that can host smaller community meetings or culinary classes
- New windows that deliver more natural light to perimeter classrooms
- Secure entrance
- Corridor renewal
- Conversion of old library into classrooms
- New fitness center
- Expanded gymnasium
- New, larger health center
- Renovated servery and kitchen
Small, dark, and secluded old library
Circular reading room within the new library media center
Dark and dated entry corridor
Refreshed entry corridor with new signage
Small and outmoded staff lounge
Much larger staff lounge with flexible furnishing and daylight
