McKillop Library Allen Family Learning Commons

Sheehans first worked on the Salve Regina University’s “new” 70,000sf McKillop Library in 1991. Thirty years later it was time for the library interiors to evolve to meet the needs of the services and programs that now contribute the library’s mission of promoting scholarship, research and learning. Sheehans worked closely with DBVW through an intense, iterative and collaborative programming process to transform the first floor into the Allen Family Learning Commons; completely redefining how the once underutilized and now dynamic space is used.  The Learning Commons provides specific places and deliberate furniture selections for tutoring, testing, group study, meetings and events, while being welcoming and inclusive to all, promoting collaboration and concentration, providing a variety of settings and choices and the ability to seamlessly transition from day to night, solo to group, impromptu to formal.