Athenaeum 2050 was designed in response to a competition called "Looking Forward: Re-imagining the Athenaeum of Philadelphia" that invited architects and designers to develop architectural proposals for the Athenaeum library in the year 2050.

As technological innovations continue to occur at an exponential speed, materiality and connectivity of buildings and furniture to a wireless infrastructure will be inevitable in the future. Although architectural graphics are now being digitally created, the quality and sensorial aspects of physical architectural records will still be sought after by avid researchers; increasing the need for innovative storage, display, and retrieval systems. The Athenaeum will continue to embrace and display its wealth of knowledge, both physical and digital, and create spaces that engages all visitors in the pursuit of knowledge through its design.

With a growing collection of architecturally significant records, the Athenaeum in 2050 will display its book collection to the public on book stacks accessed by a librarian’s assistant. These book stacks will create an ambiance that engages visitors’ visual, auditory, and olfactory senses as they pursue research on gesture based tables with ubiquitous access to all information contained within, and outside of, the Athenaeum. An interactive façade will continually display architectural work being researched within the library’s network. The Athenaeum will be a major hub for architecture and related fields through its display of knowledge and collection of architectural records.