Clark’s Academic Commons at Goddard Library has received an award in the “Building Additions Category” from the the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP).

The Academic Commons at Goddard Library was designed by Steven M. Foote, of Perry Dean Rogers Partners Architects, Boston, and built by Consigli Construction Co., Inc., of Milford.

SCUP awards are highly competitive; 171 projects were submitted for consideration this year, according to Foote, principal architect on the project.

Opened in January 2009, the Academic Commons building project renovated the original library and added 11,000 square feet by enclosing its plaza level. Included on that new level are the University’s main computer lab, late-night study rooms, the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise, Jazzman’s Café, and the Library’s Rare Book Room. It is a cutting-edge facility offering centralized academic and research support services for the entire campus community.

“The Academic Commons is the ideal place for students and faculty to build our community of 21st-century scholars,” says Gwen Arthur, Clark University Librarian. “Moreover, the redesign resonates with the building’s Brutalist architectural design. The library will continue to serve as a dynamic monument to Dr. Robert H. Goddard, the father of modern space rocketry and the University’s most famous alumnus and professor.”

SCUP’s winning entries will appear on their website, in the October issue of Planning for Higher Education, and in the Tribute to Excellence newspaper in the coming weeks.