The Old Meets the New at the Penn State Wilkes-Barre Campus
A Treasure Hayfield House at the Wilkes-Barre Campus of Penn State
In 1968, after 52 years of serving the educational needs of the people of the Wilkes-Barre area, Penn State reached a milestone with the opening of the permanent campus facilities at Hayfield House in Lehman, Pennsylvania. The serene and palatial Hayfield House has dominated the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus since that date. Hayfield House, the stately manor of the late Mr. and Mrs. John N. Conyngham, was given to Penn State by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Robinson of Greenwich, Connecticut. Mr. Robinson was the nephew of Mrs. Conyngham.
The Wilkes-Barre campus received the main buildings and 50 acres of landscaped property. The fifteen-acre arboretum, considered one of the best in the state, is located directly in front of Hayfield House. Hayfield House was built in 1933 at a cost of over one million dollars. Many of the appointments in the Hayfield House were imported from Europe and the Far East. Stained glass windows were imported from a Paris cathedral and the marble fireplace in the main living room came from Emperor Franz Josef’s Hofsburg Palace in Vienna. The reception room has a “floating” staircase and the Japanese room was fashioned with imported painted Japanese wallpaper. Over the years the building has been occupied by many of the administrative services of the campus, including the chancellor’s office as well as selected areas used as classrooms.
Penn State Wilkes-Barre's new library,
part of the Abram Nesbitt III Academic Commons
The new Academic Commons multi-use building is an 8 million donor-funded project that was officially opened in March of 2008. The new building sits aside the Hayfield House. It houses the Abraham Nesbitt Library which contains a state of the art instruction room, three group study areas and a dedicated GIS room. The library is spacious in nature with cathedral ceilings and large windows that allow ample natural light into the space. The LEED Certified building is constructed of recycled energy efficient materials, and totally wireless. The lower level contains four state of the art classrooms, an art gallery, auditorium, and cyber café. The environment is welcoming and it makes usage of the facility and resources a pleasure for students and faculty alike
The challenge that the architects (Bohlin Cywinski Jackson) faced would be blending the new Academic Commons building with the historic Hayfield House. After much research and discussion, they submitted not only a splendid design that complimented the Hayfield House, but also specified appropriate materials and processes of construction that qualified the new building to be LEED Certified.
The addition of the Academic Commons to this campus provides both students and faculty the ability to learn and teach in a more comfortable and technologically equipped environment. However, one only has to gaze out the window and be reminded of the history and beauty this campus possesses.