Health Sciences Learning Center

The Health Sciences Learning Center at the University of Wisconsin supports the evolving needs of education, research, and clinical practice in a unified facility for the Medical, Nursing, and Pharmacy schools.

The heart of the Learning Center is the Ebling Library, which is part of a statewide outreach program to serve both advanced research and public inquiry. The Library administers many other resources in the Center, including seminar, lecture, and distance learning facilities; digital labs, and clinical suites. The Center also provides a campus lounge and bookstore.

The Center’s design fosters interdisciplinary exchange and academic teamwork. Student study space is organized in clustered communities of study rooms, lockers, mailboxes, and lounges. The major spaces give on to a skylit atrium that reinforces the Center’s sense of community. This project creates a new learning community that unites a range of learning environments that had previously occupied many separate buildings.

The new building de-emphasizes traditional boundaries between library, computer labs, and classrooms. A diverse range of learning environments is organized around a central atrium, and distinctions between what are traditionally library and non-library services are erased, both physically and administratively. For example, group study rooms that are usually located within the library’s security perimeter here are found throughout the building, and many are co-located with classrooms to provide immediate breakout spaces. Online access enables students to obtain resources from anywhere in the Center. Likewise, library-style seating, such as tables with data access, is located throughout the building.

The Learning Center’s atrium is an agora for everyone using the building’s resources—students, faculty, practitioners, and the public. Students now use its learning resources in a more frequent, informal way. Instead of a destination for dedicated study, the library is an inseparable part of the learning experience, integrated with classes and social activities.