USC Upstate’s newest building is a place to collaborate, learn and reflect
Chancellor Bennie Harris had two requests for Moseley Architects when they were designing the Library Commons, the new addition to the USC Upstate Library. He wanted the building to have a “wow factor” but he didn’t want it to look dated in a few years.
The result – an airy, light-filled, 22,000-square-foot space filled with wood accents – was officially unveiled on Oct. 2.
Central to the building’s design is its role as a community space. “We wanted to build it to be engaging, so it makes you want to come and interact and stay,” says Jasmaine Jarvis, an associate with Moseley.
Communal spaces abound on both floors, and the natural beauty of campus is visible through the many windows. “It’s a natural reset of the mind when you come in,” says Jarvis. “You can take a deep breath, like a sigh of relief.”
The main reception area has been designed to evoke the outdoors. A curving blue pattern with a sandy border snakes across the first floor, suggesting a meandering forest stream. Wood paneling behind the reception desk rises to the second floor to create a “forest” around the water, while the green in the Upstate logo is rendered in living moss. Overhead, curved chandelier pendant lights sway gently with the breeze like leaves on a tree.
Wood elements, a nod to the trees that line the upper quad outside, can be found throughout the building. These panels at the entrance welcome visitors in multiple languages. They are one of the elements Greenville-based firm Jack Porter designed to balance the contemporary with the natural.
The Commons includes a dedicated lounge for commuter students where they can heat up a meal, study, or simply relax. In keeping with the building’s goal of fostering community, the lounge encourages commuters to stay and connect. The area is suffused with natural light to make it inviting and peaceful. Overlooking the space is a large study hall for Athletics, with decorated storefront windows that let in the light while preserving privacy. The building was constructed by Thompson Turner.
Trees are a central theme in the new building. Because they are an integral part of the campus’ natural beauty, they were incorporated into many design elements to bring the outside in. But trees are also symbols of growth, Jarvis explains. Upstate nourishes students with learning and career skills, enabling them to mature and thrive in the world. The Commons itself provides space for that personal development to happen. Once students graduate, they become new branches of the university’s story. Fittingly, highlights from USC Upstate’s history are displayed next to a wood slice from a tree that was removed during construction.
Crossing the skybridge from the main Library into the Commons, the first of several study and collaboration areas is situated just to the left. Individual pods, with a comfortable seat and work surface protected by privacy guards, allow students to work in close proximity while still having their own space. Jarvis says this grew out of a post-pandemic understanding that sometimes students like to be alone together. Elsewhere in the building, seating is configured to allow for group discussions or to provide a temporary place to sit while charging a phone or laptop. Fun patterns and colors from Upstate’s official palette were chosen to make seating areas bright and inviting.
The Library Commons doesn’t just provide new spaces for students to study and gather. It also provides expanded room for student services. Career Management, the Student Success Center and the Center for International Education are now located in the building, as is a new study hall for Athletics. The latter incorporates greens and blues from the university’s official color palette to make the room cheerful and inviting. The windows for all student services offices are decorated with a wave pattern that continues the water theme from the first floor while also providing privacy for those inside. An additional U pattern on the Athletics room glass alludes to the Spartans’ official logo.
