Ann Beha will offer a slide presentation of library projects, many in historic locations, which inspire and engage their communities, blending new technologies and resources with landmark settings. The presentation and discussion will consider the expanded role — and responsibilities — that public and special collections libraries have for campuses and their neighboring populations, and how historic settings must balance preservation with change.
Ann Beha is a national leader among architects working in historic settings. Her vision has introduced contemporary design in conjunction with preservation, sustainability and stewardship. Her work emphasizes access and invitation, welcoming a broader community to engage with those familiar settings anew. As Design Principal of Ann Beha Architects, now Annum Architects, Ann’s teams have renewed, expanded and designed libraries, academic campuses and cultural resources nationally. Their work includes: in New Hampshire, the expansion of the Currier Museum, the Peterborough Town Library, and centers for the arts and community at St Paul’s School and Phillips Exeter Academy; in Boston, the expansion and renovation of the Boston Athenaeum. Now an independent architect, Ann continues to collaborate with Annum and with visionary design firms that value her experience in design for academic, civic and cultural clients, emphasizing preservation and adaptive reuse.
A graduate of Wellesley College, Ann received a Master of Architecture degree from MIT, was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, and serves on Harvard’s Campus Design Advisory Council. She was Distinguished Visiting Professor of Design at Yale University and will return to their faculty in 2026. Ann has received the Honor Award from the Boston Society of Architects, and the inaugural Award of Honor from the US Department of State, Overseas Building Operations.
For the 2025 Lecture Series “Beauty on the Seacoast and Beyond: Art, Architecture and Gardens,” each program begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Shaw Research Library (unless otherwise noted). Reservations for each program are required as seating is limited. If unable to keep a reservation, please call again to release the seat for someone else. Attendance at programs is free for Athenaeum Proprietors, Subscribers and Friends. Guests and members of the public are welcome to attend the entire series by becoming a Friend of the Athenaeum for as little as $25 per year, payable at the door. Admission to an individual program is $15.
