Veiled behind a green construction wall lies the elephant on the Quad–the skeleton of the Tate Library. For over 40 years, the Tate served the Fieldston Middle and Upper student bodies and faculty. Last year, the library was used as a study space that contained an art gallery and the film room, but years of consistent use was taking a toll on the space. During hot school days, the library became unbearable with the lack of an air conditioning system. During A/B bands, fights would erupt over the shortage of collaborative work spaces.
This year, the Tate is under renovation. Manager of Operations Teddy O’Rourke hopes to solve these problems and more. The plans call for a more open layout on the bottom floor with shorter bookshelves, more tables and more comfortable chairs. On the top level, the library will have many individual study carrels as well as collaborative spaces to replace the several offices. The rooms previously in the back of the top floor will continue to serve the student body as collaborative spaces.
On the bottom floor, the old film lab, which now functions as the onsight headquarters during this stage of the renovation, will be turned into a programmable space for classes and meetings. In recent weeks the construction team has, “removed all the plumbing,…finished up fireproofing, ductwork and installing fan coil units on the second floor,” O’Rourke said. While there is no official date for the library’s reopening, O’Rourke and his team are hoping to have a temporary certificate of occupancy by August 2018, and the student body should be able to utilize the space once again in December 2018.
For a look inside the construction, take a look at Ben Ginsburg’s short film about the renovations below!
