After over seven years of construction, the University quietly finished renovations on Hillman Library on May 8. The final phase of renovations included a three-story glass atrium facing Schenley Plaza, 16 new study rooms and an open-roof patio on the third floor.
Construction began in 2017, originating from infrastructural maintenance plans that later developed into a $130 million project to redesign the building and shape how students interact with the library. Work traveled from the fourth floor down, with the new ground floor reopening after two full years of closure.
Karleigh Sage, a sophomore law, criminal justice and society and history major, said she enjoyed the new expanded space.
“I definitely think it’s a big improvement, because I can always remember the library being very crammed,” Sage said. “I like how you can see the outside world, because I would lose track of time in that fluorescent lighting.”
Sage thinks the new open-concept ground floor area will help students feel less “overwhelmed by the setting.”
“I need to breathe, and I feel like the new construction and the openness of it [will] definitely help combat that. It adds a new feeling to the entire library,” Sage said.
For some, the new library serves as more than just an aesthetic upgrade. The development represents a tangible change in how the campus as a whole is experienced.
Drew Armstrong, director of the architectural studies program and associate history of art and architecture professor, said the renovations are a “huge transformation.”
“It’s one of the most significant changes that I can think of to a building in that part of the Pitt campus since 20 years ago when Schenley Plaza was renovated,” Armstrong said.
A major addition to the library is the glass atrium that extends from the ground floor to the second floor ceiling, where the exterior design is meant to resemble a stack of books. Scarlett Weiss, a 2025 Pitt graduate, said she thought the new area looked like a “hamster cage.”
“I think the green [staircase] looks like the tube that the hamster runs through. Everyone can see everything going on and it’s very sterile,” Weiss said.
In Weiss’ view, the atrium’s modern design looks out of place on Pitt’s historical campus. Fifteen of Pitt’s campus buildings are designated as Pittsburgh Historical Landmarks, with four listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“It’s a really modern building, and I feel like Pitt has a lot of very historical-looking architecture,” Weiss said. “It’s a little bit less homey, it feels a bit less like a library. To me, parts of it kind of look like a hotel lobby.”
The atrium can be accessed via the new main entrance located on Schenley Drive. Construction for the new entrance and atrium blocked off the corner of Forbes Avenue and Schenley, diverting all traffic to an alternative entrance on Forbes, which was often occluded by scaffolding. Armstrong said the addition promotes social accessibility.
“That corner entrance does a lot to make a gesture of being welcoming, being accessible, being available to the public that it serves,” Armstrong said. “It makes the transition from outside to inside pretty much seamless — pretty much anyone would feel comfortable walking into that space.”
Interior renovations blocked off areas on certain floors last year, prompting some students to complain about a lack of available workspace. Weiss said she agreed the old library was “really chaotic” during the years of construction.
“I wasn’t crazy about the library,” Weiss said. “More often than not, it was difficult to get a table or difficult to find an actual study space, so I usually went to the Cathedral or an empty academic building.”
Despite the 1.5 million volumes contained in Hillman, many are not immediately seen from the new ground floor area. Weiss said the lack of visible books is part of what makes it feel “a lot less like a library.”
“I feel like you can walk on the ground floor and not see a single book, which is interesting,” Weiss said.
Instead of bookshelf space, the renovations added dozens of open floor study tables and 16 private group rooms to the library on the ground floor, which students can reserve. Armstrong suggested that this increase in collaborative spaces is intentional, marking what he sees as a cultural shift towards communal rather than individual study at Pitt. The library was originally built in 1968, a time that Armstrong said focused on the research aspect of the space.
“In the 1960s, it was a slightly different model. There was an idea about having more emphasis on solitary study space in the building. People were social [outside of the library], people talked, because social media didn’t exist and other forms of communication were more difficult,” Armstrong said.
As in-person “third places” disappear, Armstrong said he believes the new library can help provide necessary real estate for community interaction.
“The library plays a uniquely important role in providing a space for different kinds of sociability focused around either a sole or shared interest in study,” Armstrong said. “I keep coming back to how important it is for the campus and for its buildings to promote the kind of sociability that is integral to learning. This university is an in-person campus, and so buildings matter. They support a mission.”
As the beginning of the school year approaches, students can look forward to a grand open house for the renovated Hillman on Sept. 4.
