Low Memorial Library – the architectural centerpiece of the university’s Morningside Campus visible from all parts of the campus – was architect Charles McKim’s 1897 triumph. No longer a library, Low today houses the offices of the President and senior administration, and Columbia’s Archival Collection.
Selected to restore Low Library’s iconic dome, Helpern Architects prepared a condition assessment study that investigated its structure, envelope, and building systems.
Work on Low’s interior included the President’s suite of offices and the high-tech conference room of Jeffery Sachs, then director of Columbia’s Earth Institute.
The work on the 132-ft-high masonry dome was covered by Chris Grey in The New York Times and Architectural Record [“an architectural-engineering detective story”]. The restoration was also a featured presentation at the Society for College and University Planning’s national conference.
