http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/17/arts/design/maya-lin-unveils-redesign-of-smith-college-library.html 2016-10-17 00:23:55 Maya Lin Unveils Redesign of Smith College Library The renovation will retain the original building of the Neilson Library from 1909 while removing bulky additions that Ms. Lin said created a “telescoping” effect. === Maya Lin The renovation will retain the original building of the Neilson Library from 1909 while removing bulky additions from over the years that Ms. Lin said created a “telescoping” effect and bisected the campus’s lawns with what amounted to a wall. Her proposal also introduces two “jewel box” wings designed with curves to let in natural light from different angles throughout the day. “We basically get to give the heart of the campus back to Smith,” Ms. Lin said. “It was a reductivist scheme. Less is more.” She added that restoring the open green space harks back to the original 1893 campus plan of Frederick Law Olmsted, the chief architect of Central Park. His design called for Smith’s small campus in Northampton, Mass., to double as a botanic garden. In addition, Ms. Lin’s proposal includes a “skyline room” atop the library, with views of the campus, nearby Paradise Pond and the Holyoke Mountain Range. Also on the top level is an outdoor patio. Inside, the central atrium will be lit by an oculus, whose curves were calculated to capture and magnify sunlight. Ms. Lin designed the renovation with a colleague, William Bialosky, as well as the firm Shepley Bulfinch. ( The project has a personal element for Ms. Lin. Her mother attended Smith after fleeing China in 1949.