St. Joseph’s University sought to create a modern academic hub that could support collaborative learning, strengthen library services, and connect key areas of its Philadelphia campus. The existing Drexel Library no longer offered the technology, flexibility, or range of study environments required by today’s students. O Z Collaborative revitalized the 60,000-square-foot Drexel Library and designed a new 38,000-square-foot Learning Commons to bring these functions together. The two buildings are linked by a three-story glazed atrium that now anchors the campus’s primary east–west pedestrian path. This central space provides orientation, shared services, and a welcoming sense of arrival for students and faculty.

The Learning Commons was designed as a technology-rich environment that supports multiple modes of learning. The ground floor includes a café, social study areas, and open computer workstations that encourage interaction and informal study. The second floor offers quieter spaces for focused individual and group work, while the third floor houses special collections and exhibition areas. The project also reshaped the surrounding campus landscape. New plazas and walkways create inviting outdoor spaces for gathering and study, while a wi-fi-enabled campus green allows learning and social interaction to extend outdoors.

By redirecting the campus’s primary pedestrian spine through the atrium, the Academic Center transforms a circulation route into a vibrant crossroads of daily student life. The project establishes a welcoming front door to the University and a central place where learning, collaboration, and campus community come together.