TechCentral is Cleveland Public Library’s flagship hub for technology-based services, located in the Louis Stokes Wing at the Main Library in downtown Cleveland. Bostwick Design Partnership designed the original TechCentral space in 2012, as a personal computer-focused consolidation of previously distributed reservable PCs.
In 2024, the space new required an update, for two overarching reasons:
- The space has been well-used, needing finish upgrades, lighting replacements, and repairs to portions of a 2012 low-profile raised floor system.
- Usage patterns and demands for emerging services had evolved over the last decade, resulting in diminished demand for PC stations and an increased demand for equipment supporting the library’s makerspace area, which the original design did not anticipate but had accommodated in a portion of the original space.
The 2012 design included a low-profile raised floor system for flexible power and data distribution that in 2024 allowed CPL to efficiently and cost-effectively transform the space into a regional makerspace destination. The reimagined space now accommodates a range of services, including: laser engraving and cutting, 3D printing & scanning, vinyl printing & cutting, a heat press, photography, videography & graphic design, and music recording & production.
The renovation included lighting and finish upgrades throughout, expanded staff work areas, and acoustic treatments to address the increase in activity and equipment noise.
