The Mansueto Library is the most recent addition to the University of Chicago campus. It is positioned next to the older (and very dissimilar looking) Regenstein Library. When I was a student here, I would walk past the construction for this building nearly every day and for most of this time the site was simply a large pit. Although there is a visible exterior above ground, there is an extensive repository many feet deep which is mostly inaccessible (this space is reserved for robotic hand cranes that retrieve books from the underground stacks). I remember feeling very anxious for this building to be finished after having seen the plans for it for so long. Ultimately, it was underwhelming. The only space that could be used for studying is packed into the first floor and although there are carrels that separate each person, there is so little room inside them that it feels very cramped. And while I was personally impressed with Mansueto’s architecture, its open windows on its only habitable floor were not very viable as a study space.
never been there looks cool
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