Libraries in Harmony: Goucher College Athenaeum

While not necessarily part of a building proper, the landscaping of a library has a big impact on the user’s experience. It can also have a big impact on the greenness of a construction project by reducing pollution and promoting biodiversity.

The Goucher College Athenaeum in Baltimore has two green roofs, a rain garden that collects rain runoff from the rooftops and that is planted with vegetation to attract butterflies, a grassy meadow with plants chosen to increase the area’s biodiversity, a sloping great lawn that serves as a natural amphitheater, and a terrace planted with a grid of honey locust trees.

Architect: RMJM

Photo: Jeffrey Tryon/RMJM