OLIN LIBRARY—Students rejoiced as the long-awaited Olin Library renovation was finally completed this past week, reopening a popular study area on the main floor. For months, library goers have silently endured the overcrowded conditions. It became a common sight to see flocks of Cornellians circling the room, looking for an open chair. But now, thanks to the new renovations, students have considerably more square footage to wander around in search of an empty seat.
Lead architect Corey Wallace approached the remodel with the goal of improving functionality. “The biggest problem with the old design was the lack of flow; we noticed that the pure mass of students was beginning to clog up passageways as they looked for open tables,” Wallace explained. “We realized that the library could be reconfigured to allow dozens more students to hover impatiently over occupied chairs.”
Wallace and his innovative team attempted to maximize the empty floor area in order to provide students with enough space to comfortably make laps around the room. “From our observations, it appears that the library’s primary use is anxious meandering, and I think we’ve succeeded in giving students the space to do that,” he declared proudly.
Reactions to the new renovations have been mixed. “There’s, like, three chairs, and they’re already full,” Cameron Chen ‘27 complained on opening day. Cries of “Who got rid of all the tables?” and “I can’t find an outlet” echoed across the mostly empty room.
Nevertheless, students circulated seamlessly throughout the new space as they hunted for a study spot. Wallace is reportedly pleased with the outcome of the renovation. Aiming to further indulge the student body’s thirst for inefficiency and frustration, his next project plans to make the clocktower detour a permanent fixture.
