This design proposal for an Athenaeum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, masterfully combines a triptych of familiar architectural geometries—a box, a cone, and a barrel vault—to balance complex programming with vibrant civic space. At the urban scale, a series of dramatic barrel vaults carve away the building’s mass to extend the public social space of the city directly into and beneath the structure. 

Inside, a collection of aggregated cones serves a dual purpose, functioning as distinct spatial thresholds and high-volume lightwells that flood the interior with natural light, while carving out intimate, focused reading rooms for study and contemplation. By intersecting these clear geometric forms, the architecture creates a dynamic venue where civic openness and quiet research seamlessly coexist.