An architecture design challenge for University of Nebraska–Lincoln students is helping further a community debate on the future of Lincoln’s downtown library.

The project, the results of which are on display through June 14 at Bennett Martin Public Library, 134 S. 14th St., was offered as part of a spring semester design studio in UNL’s College of Architecture.

“I thought this project would be a great opportunity for our students to get some real-world experience working with actual stakeholders and issues,” said Steve Hardy, an associate professor of architecture who led the ARCH 5/611 design studio. “The students were really engaged with the project. It was a great exploration that showed the potential of the downtown library proposal.”

Lincoln City Libraries have been developing the project for nearly four years, working with various collaborators. The Clark Enersen architectural firm created the first 100,000-plus square foot programming document which provided the basis for the student design challenge.

Using the library’s early concept, vision study and programming document as their foundation, the students spent the spring semester researching and developing various concept designs and project scenarios. Some students created concepts that included adaptive reuse of Lincoln’s Pershing Center (a downtown arena no longer in use and located near Bennett Martin, Lincoln’s central library), while others proposed a new building recommending the demolition of Pershing Center.

“Given the size of the site and its maximum buildable volume, the notion of a site partner or another entity sharing the site such as a coffeehouse, became an important variable,” Hardy said. “Most students looked for creative ways to introduce mixed-use scenarios and synthesize a new type of future library based on a programmatic hybridization with the site partner.

“Students were passionate about the need for a new and updated library to operate as an active public space and were eager to explore expanded and new types of services.”

Students worked with various community partners on the project, including Bennett Martin Public Library, the Library Board and Clark Enersen. Feedback from those partners was integrated into the students’ final designs.

“It was a good experience for the library staff who participated, it helped to instill the value of good design,” said Lowell Berg, a senior principal architect with Clark Enersen and a member of the library board. “I believe it was also a good exercise for the students, and it promoted the college within our community.”

While an important learning tool, the value of the design studio projects extends beyond the classroom.

“I think this is one thing UNL offers that other universities may lose sight of,” said Luke Abkes, an architecture student. “Yes, we are studying how to design buildings that will go in our communities, but even more importantly we are designing the framework in which our communities have the capability to thrive.

“A project such as a library offers the potential to make a considerable difference because it levels the playing field between the more and less fortunate, offering an abundance of resources to all who enter.”

The design concepts generated by students are on exhibit on the second floor of Bennett Martin Library.

“I’ve been to the library multiple times and there have been people interacting with the exhibit and asking questions about it,” Hardy said. “That’s been exciting, especially as the city moves closer to a final decision this summer.”