New London, CT • 3,500 sf • General Contractor • 3 months
ARCHITECT: Schwartz/Silver Architects
Located inside the Charles E. Shain Library and adjacent to its main entrance, the highly visible Charles Chu Asian Art Reading Room and archive also serves as a permanent exhibition space for the Chu-Griffits Art Collection and other traveling exhibits of contemporary Chinese artists. It is named for Charles Chu, an accomplished painter and revered Connecticut College teacher who began the school’s Chinese language program in 1965.
Carlin Construction worked closely with Schwartz/Silver Architects as the general contractor to bring the firm’s vision to fruition, performing the extensive and exacting renovations while the adjoining main library remained in operation. The result is an open and tranquil space that highlights the exhibited art with an abundance of natural light — while retaining both the character and the wide-angle exterior views originally established by the main library’s architects.