Pentagram's Giorgia Lupi Creates Data-Driven Library Installation at SUNY Binghamton
A new installation driven by data, created by Giorgia Lupi, a partner at Pentagram, has been unveiled in the renovated Glenn G. Bartle Library at SUNY Binghamton. It presents 200 of the library's most frequently borrowed items as a vibrant grid of tiles, organized both chronologically and by related categories. An engaging wall encourages students to share their thoughts on reading habits, evolving into a visualization for the community. Each tile showcases unique patterns derived from Bartle Library's collection, using shape, color, and dot designs to differentiate between physical and digital items. The project arose from an on-site research visit, shifting its emphasis to borrowing trends due to insufficient records. This installation brightens the library's brutalist architecture, infusing it with color and warmth.
Key facts
- Pentagram partner Giorgia Lupi led the installation at SUNY Binghamton's Glenn G. Bartle Library.
- The installation transforms 200 of the library's most borrowed books, journals, theses, and special collections into a gridded field of colorful extruded tiles.
- Tiles are displayed chronologically and clustered into related groups.
- An interactive companion wall invites students to respond to prompts about reading habits, privacy, and the future of knowledge using magnets color-coded by major.
- Each tile carries a custom pattern drawn from textures and architectural details scanned throughout Bartle Library.
- Shape distinguishes physical from digital items; color and dot patterns identify home library and related majors; line weight tracks total borrowings.
- The project grew out of an on-site research trip observing book repair, stacks, and Special Collections.
- The installation is located in a newly renovated space within a brutalist landmark at SUNY Binghamton.
Entities
Artists
Institutions
- Pentagram
- SUNY Binghamton
- Glenn G. Bartle Library
Locations
- Binghamton
- United States