Hampden-Sydney College Bortz Library

W. M. Jordan Company provided construction management at risk services to construct the Bortz Library at Hampden-Sydney College. This project was a new four-story main library building consisting of steel frame on a combination of shallow foundations and helical piles.

The building features a monumental staircase and a rotunda on the fourth floor. Dressed in Flemish bond brick veneer with a slate roof, the library offers details such as cast stone columns and balustrades at the main entry, plaza and reading porch and extensive millwork with exterior cornices and interior crown molding. The building offers oversized couches and chairs for long study sessions as well as a coffee bar for students to enjoy.

The Bortz library at Hampden-Sydney College is a signature building for the College, exemplifying their mission to “form good men and good citizens in an atmosphere of sound learning.” Prior to the building’s construction, the college’s librarians researched how young men use space, work in groups and complete tasks. That research influenced the buildings floor plan allowing for a more productive space for students to enjoy.