WKU celebrates construction milestone for Commons at Helm Library

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) -On Wednesday, several officials gathered at the construction site of Helm Library on WKU’s campus. Workers lifted a major support beam into place, marking a big milestone for the project.

“It is exciting to watch this historic building transform yet again to serve future generations of WKU students,” WKU President Dr. Timothy Caboni said.

Dr. Caboni along with others involved with the project signed the beam before it was put into place.

“I gave some thought into what it is I would write on that beam, and so I wrote down, ‘to all the future WKU students, I hope your lives are transformed by the conversations you have in this building. That’s what this project is about,‘” Caboni said.

The new design of the library allows for more natural light and adds multi-function social spaces for students and faculty. Designers are installing 14 skylights, as well as hanging on to some of the building’s history. It will display historic pictures and expose parts of the former Big Red Barn basketball court.

“One of the visions of the project was to be ‘the windows to the world.' The original building was about looking inward because it was a sporting event. But now that it’s a library, we really had it turn inside out, so those windows became a critical part to meet the committee’s design vision,” explained David Broz who is the president Gensler, the design firm working with the university.

Construction of the new and improved library is expected to be completed by the Fall 2021 semester.

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