Insights
Dec 8, 2025 _ insights
Phased Progress: Balancing Innovation and Budget
The University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library recently cut the ribbon on a multi-year, multi-phase transformation that reasserts the academic library’s place on campus as a hub for learning, connection, collaboration, and community engagement. Its reinvention serves as a blueprint for how campus spaces can respond to trending student preferences and institutional goals using thoughtful stakeholder engagement and a phased, budget-conscious approach. I was recently invited to share insights on the process of Hillman Library’s multi-phased transformation at Tradeline’s Space Strategies Conference and co-presented with Matt Hansen, assistant vice chancellor for design stewardship at the University of Pittsburgh.
Our presentation, Phased Progress: Balancing innovation and budget in facility transformations illustrated how to productively involve students and staff to ensure spaces reflect current and future user needs — including collaborative zones, tech-driven amenities, and intuitive layouts. We provided findings on phased construction processes enabling continual refinement while keeping facilities operational and costs manageable. We profiled how this model of balancing innovation with fiscal responsibility empowers institutions to adapt confidently in uncertain times.
You can see our presentation here.
Read our case study on Hillman Library here.
Learn more about Hillman Library’s transformation here and here.
Matthew Plecity, AIA, ASLA is a principal at GBBN. An architect with a landscape architecture background, Matt leverages his understanding of site and context to design buildings with strong relationships to their environments. As part of the leadership team for GBBN’s Higher Education Market, he regularly shares his insights into campus design, sustainability, academic libraries, and research spaces at regional, national, and international conferences. Matt loves collaborating with clients, colleagues, and consultants to build bold ideas like University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library renovation and Penn State Behrend’s Federal House.
