“We’ve won the academic lottery with the Milstein Center,” said Linda Bell, provost and dean of the faculty at Barnard College, at the October 3 grand opening of the 128,000 square foot, $137 million building. Officially dubbed the Cheryl and Philip Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning, the facility is projected to achieve a LEED Silver rating. It hosts expansive green roofs and accessible terraces on several floors and maximal natural lighting.

Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, the building creates a hub for the campus. Officially opened on September 4, it houses the 40,000 square foot library—with an exciting double height ceiling, varied seating and study rooms, and the core collection, including the famed zine collection run by Jenna Freedman, associate director of communications and zine librarian and an LJ Mover & Shaker—and a space for the archives and special collections. It also hosts centers for design, digital humanities, media, movement, empirical reasoning, and pedagogy; the Vagelos Computational Science Center; conference and seminar space; the Barnard Center for Research on Women; the Athena Center for Leadership Studies; some departmental offices; and a coffee shop. 

LJ walked through the space with Dean of Barnard Library & Academic Information Services Jen Green. Here’s a brief tour of some of the highlights.