The major reorganization and make-over of GTU’s Berkeley campus is now complete.  GTU describes its unique mission as follows:

“An institution of higher learning unlike any other, the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley brings together scholars of the world’s diverse religions and wisdom traditions to advance new knowledge, share inspiration, and collaborate on solutions.”

The iconic Hewlett Building, the centerpiece of the campus and the locus for our project, was designed by world famous architect Louis Kahn shortly before his death in 1974.  The dramatic 3-storey high Oculus infuses its center with natural light, another Kahn trademark. The reorganization and consolidation of faculty and administrative personnel from other buildings on the campus necessitated the elimination of valuable existing stacks within the Hewlett Building, creating a need for alternative storage and display methods.  Working with GTU management and the renowned New York City library consultant Alex Cohen, our mission was to not only find an alternative method to store the large quantity of precious texts and artifacts, thus saving substantial fees for off-site storage, but also display the collections in a more dramatic and compelling way. 

A plan view of the building reveals Kahn’s fascination with the square, a design element that repeats itself throughout the building, itself an homage to the square.  Our designs respect and reinforce this concept, integrating square elements within the tower with the one element Kahn has introduced that, in his own words, “breaks the square,” the circular oculus.