Even though we’ve seen the Kenyon 2020 Plans online, on fences, and in our dreams, many still wonder exactly what the new library should and will look like. Because I will have graduated and received a restraining order from Kenyon by the time the library is completed, I decided to answer these questions by creating the new Kenyon library in the most realistic computer game known to man: the Sims 2. I’ve spoken to a lot of Kenyon simulation truthers, and we can all agree that life at Kenyon is sometimes so odd that we must live in either a corrupted cartoon universe or a simulation created by Graham Gund. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a “strategic life simulation video game” from 2004 is the best way to predict our future. Also, the Thrill already has a surprising amount of Sims content for an blog about Kenyon College, so you signed up for this!

I started my mission by researching the building plans, exterior drawings, and general layout of the new library. Photos on the Kenyon website show a large building covered in glass that looks like a cross between New Side and the Gund Gallery (I wonder who designed it???). I also started off with a budget of $75 million dollars and the library’s first resident, Kenyon Student #1.

Kenyon Student #1 studying for finals

Originally, I thought that building the library would take me a couple of hours at most, depending on whether I decided to be really detailed about things like flooring and paint colors. However, after it took over 3 hours to just create the floor plan and the building itself, I decided that in order to create the perfect library, I would need to take things very slow and very steady, just as a true Kenyon construction crew would do so. 

Level 1 floor plan

So far, $206,967 has been spent to create the first level basic floor plan, the exterior of the building, and all of the glass doors and windows as depicted in official plans. Check back in next week as I build an ~accessible~ elevator and hundreds of purple chairs. And if there’s anything that you think needs to be included in the new library, let me know in the comments and maybe Graham Gund will see it in his daily browsing of the Thrill!

East facing exterior // Look at all that glass!

South facing exterior // Woah, even more glass!