MBI partnered with the University of Missouri–St. Louis to furnish the renovated Thomas Jefferson Library, the university’s central academic library on North Campus. MBI provided design support, project management, and installation across roughly 65,000 square feet of study, collaboration, service, and café environments.
“Great experience and customer service! [MBI] and the entire installation team were great to work with as always. …very flexible with the construction delays and did a great job navigating the circumstances.“ Laura Pemberton Facilities Space Planner & Designer
The Space
The library entry invites you in with modular lounge seating, setting the tone for the space.
A long, shared table anchors the collaboration area, with high-back individual booth seating and lounge chairs.
Perimeter banquette seating with pull-up work surfaces sits steps away from open computer stations and soft seating.
The refreshed computer lab stays open to the main floor, with collaboration tables.
Glass-fronted study rooms open onto a mix of lounge seating, shared tables, and café-height counters.
Photo credit: James Corbett III
What Made This One Work
01
The renovation changed how students move through the building. MBI furnished the settings that fill a reclaimed space due to interior walls and the original center staircase removed during renovation. Product selections balance the durability a high-traffic academic building demands with the comfort students expect from a space they occupy for hours at a stretch.
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The library stayed in service the entire time. That turned the furniture package into a phased delivery rather than a single installation. MBI sequenced product around the construction schedule and around students who were still using the building.
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The result is a flexible, modern academic environment that supports the many ways students study, gather, and connect throughout the day.
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MBI helped create a warm, welcoming environment that is both beautiful and functional for residents, families, visitors and the team.
See how MBI supports education spaces designed for daily use, flexibility, durability, and a range of student, faculty, and staff needs. These project profiles show furniture solutions across classrooms, student centers, libraries, dining areas, administrative spaces, and campus environments.
Whether you are planning a new space, refreshing an existing one, building standards, or coordinating a larger project team, MBI can help you think through the furniture scope before decisions become harder to change.
