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A walk through the world's oldest library in Fez, Morocco

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Books of the Qarawiyyin library reading room are pictured in the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque in Fez, Morocco. (TRT World and Agencies)

Al-Qarawiyyin library, the oldest working library in the world, has undergone extensive renovations and was recently unveiled to the public in Fez, Morocco.

Until now, the privilege of using the library has been limited to scholars who need to seek formal permission, and authorities haven't decided yet whether to change that.

The University of Al-Qarawiyyin is considered the first university in the world. Originally a mosque, it expanded in the 10th century to become a university, Abdelmajid El-Marzi, imam and administrator of the mosque, told AP.

It was founded by a Muslim woman named Fatima al-Fihiri in the year 859, debunking the myth that muslim women were subjugated.

Al-Fihiri, immigrated with her family from present-day Tunisia in the 9th century establishing themselves in Moroccan society.

A few years later, she lost her father, husband and brother in short succession. She and her sister, therefore, inherited a substantial sum of money. With this money, she built the Qarawiyyin mosque which included the Al-Qarawiyyin university on its grounds. Mariam, her sister, built the Al-Andalusia mosque, with both women dedicating their lives and fortune to the service of the people.

The courtyard of Al-Qarawiyyin mosque. (AP)

Historical records denote that al-Fihri was hands-on during the construction period of the mosque and other reports said she made a religious vow to fast from the first day of its construction to the last.

A prayer hall of Al-Qarawiyyin mosque. (AP)

Al-Qarawiyyin University went on to became an important center for education and one of the first Islamic and most prestigious universities in the world. Alumni included Andalusian scholar, poet and philosopher Ibn al-Arabi in 12th century, North African historian and economist, Ibn Khaldun in the 14th century and Leo Africanus, an author and renowned traveler of the 16th century.

A sundial casts a shadow to display the time of day at the historic Al-Qarawiyyin University in Fez, Morocco, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. (AP)

In 1963, the university was incorporated into Morocco's modern state university system under the supervision of the ministry of education. A new campus was established in another part of Fez while the mosque and library remained.

A plank of wood that is said to Fatima al-Fihri's diploma, founder of Al-Qarawiyyin. (TRT World and Agencies)

Civil engineer and architect, Aziza Chaouni was commissioned in 2012 by the Moroccan Ministry of Culture to rehabilitate the 1,157 year old library which she confesses she didn't know about.

"I knew about the mosque, but never even knew there was a library there," she told AP, despite growing up in the city.

Curator of the Qarawiyyin library, Abdelfattah Bougchouf, opens an original version of Ibn Khaldun's most famous work, Muqadimmah, dating back to the 14th century at the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque. (AP)

The library's state of disrepair meant that Chaouni faced major challenges in her path. At risk were centuries of knowledge contained in the many ancient manuscripts that were at threat of being lost forever.

"In rooms containing precious manuscripts dating back to the 7th century, the temperature and moisture were uncontrolled, and there were cracks in the ceiling," Chaouni told Ted.com

"Throughout the years, the library underwent many rehabilitations, but it still suffered from major structural problems, a lack of insulation, and infrastructural deficiencies like a blocked drainage system, broken tiles, cracked wood beams, exposed electric wires, and so on," she said.

The fountain for ablutions before prayers is pictured in the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque. (AP)

As part of the UNESCO World Heritage list, Chaouni took special care to restore the library's original courtyard fountains as they formed part of the city's vast and ancient water network.

Abdelfattah Bougchouf, curator of the Qarawiyyin library, opens the first page of an original version of Ibn Khaldun's most famous work, Muqadimmah, dating back to the 14th century at the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque. (AP)

The impressive library boasts more than 4,000 rare books and ancient arabic manuscripts dating back to the 9th century.

9th century Quran written on leather with Kufic calligraphy at Al-Qarawiyyin library. (TRT World and Agencies)

However, the oldest and most treasured asset of Al-Qarawiyyin library is a 9th century Quran written on leather with Kufic calligraphy.

Arabic scripts at the time mostly consisted of Kufic calligraphy from the 7th century until the 11th century and is a modified form of the old Nabataean script.

An original manuscript by Ibn Rochd on Maliki jurisprudence written in Andalusian style calligraphy at the al-Qarawiyyin mosque. (AP)

Post renovation, the manuscripts are now kept in a secure room, with strict temperature and humidity control. In the past, it was a different story.

"The original manuscript room door had four locks," said Abdelfattah Bougchouf, curator of the Qarawiyyin library. "Each of those keys was kept with four different people. In order to open the manuscript room, all four of those people had to physically be there to open the door."

Now, he chuckled, "all of that has been replaced with a four-digit security code."

The reading room of the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque. (AP)

Chaouni is lobbying to open a public exhibition room in the library for the first time.

The Culture Ministry accepted the idea but bureaucratic control over the site shifted to the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs. Chaouni worries that this shift will squash her efforts.

Authorities are also concerned about the cost of keeping the previous manuscripts secure.

To improve access to the manuscripts, the library has began a process of digitizing them. However, only 20 percent of the manuscripts is in electronic form and the work continues.

Source: TRTWorld and agencies

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A walk through the world's oldest library in Fez, Morocco

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Al-Qarawiyyin library, the oldest working library in the world, has undergone extensive renovations and was recently unveiled to the public in Fez, Morocco. Until now, the privilege of using the library has been limited to scholars who need to seek formal permission, and authorities haven't decided yet whether to change that.

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Infraestrutura das bibliotecas - I: disponibilidade e organização do espaço físico - Ecofuturo

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Designers have created civic institutions, governmental centers, public plazas, and many other spaces as testaments to individual and shared values. As spaces for gathering and exchange are necessary elements to urban life, architecture can also act as a vehicle to encourage understanding. Advocating knowledge while empowering the public, libraries celebrate ideas, curiosity and empathy.

France has built many new libraries across the country, buildings that embrace new technology, media, and collection formats. Combining mixed programs and civic amenities, contemporary libraries are rapidly evolving to meet modern demands and anticipate future trends. Libraries are one means by which architects and designers can make space for learning and foster cultural exchange, creating room for education and new ideas. The following work takes a closer look at libraries across France, building upon iconic examples like the National Library of France to ground new ideas on how shared values are discovered, reimagined and expressed.

The town of Pélissanne is an ancient fortified city located in the heart of Provence in France. The new media library takes place in the historic Maureau Mansion, built in 1642 and set in the heart of an urban garden. The building is thus part of a rich landscape and heritage context. The project contrasts the verticality of the rehabilitated volume of the existing building and the horizontality of the extension.

The media library in Colombes, near Paris, is part of a new Social Center whose purpose on a broader scale is the urban renewal and upgrading of the town's Fossés Jean/Bouviers district. To strengthen the unique characteristics of this site, the volume is open to the city, detached from the ground, and creates transparency and a deep view into the edifice from the place Michelet all the way to the gardens of the Social Center.

The construction of the new multimedia library of Montauban spearheaded an urban renewal project in the eastern quarters of the city. It needed to mark the entrance to the city, providing an identity to these neglected neighborhoods while still representing the city of Montauban. In parallel, it is a project of reinvention: in the digitalization of knowledge, the challenges of such a design are of space and of materialization of the information and its division.

The project is located in the rural landscapes of southern France, in a city called Monein. The building takes place on the main square near the town hall. The idea was to create an architectural intervention that established a flagship role in the city. The team's strategy when designing this building was to use and preserve the urban and architectural context to create a contemporary architecture in dialogue with its historical environment.

The site is marked by the presence of the campus facing the town through the intermediary of the new library. Located at the edge of the campus, the new building curls around the old library to create a dynamic that heralds the development and renewal of the library and a harbinger of the future evolution of the campus.

This project had the ambition of becoming a new model for media libraries. The programme calls the functions of a media library into question, lending it the content of a 'third place' - a place where members of the public become actors in their own condition, a place for creation as well as reception. In association with the basic programme, the building includes areas for displays, creation, music studios, and a café-restaurant.

Bibliothèque Alexis de Tocqueville is a public library for the metropolitan region Caen la Mer in Normandy, France. The 12,000 m2 multimedia library is located at the tip of the peninsula that extends out from the city of Caen to the English Channel. Its key position - between the city's historic core and an area of Caen that is being developed - supports the city's ambition for the library to become a new civic center.

Located in the inner city of Grenay (Pas-de-Calais, France), this media library offers the municipality with a cultural equipment designed to answer the need of population. The project is located at a triangular crossroad between three old mining conglomerations which used to constitute the town. The immediate urban fabric is mainly composed of pavilions and it was essential to the contractor that this location become the center of Grenay.

The Media Library is a strong cultural symbol for the Marsan urban area. The Media Library stands in the middle of the Bosquet barracks, and care has been taken to augment the dialogue with the place's strong architectural whole. With its clean envelope of pure geometric lines, the building complies with the classical layout yet contrasts with its austerity by offsetting the system with a corner opening onto the city.

Inspired by the nearby covered market, the project designed by the Patrick Mauger agency in Auneau takes the form of a contemporary hall. The building is set back from the street, creating an esplanade that extends the main market square. A friendly, diversified space combining cultural activities and community life has been created. Like a figurehead, a multimedia library stretches out on the 1st floor.

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Building Knowledge: New French Libraries Designed for Cultural Exchange

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Designers have created civic institutions, governmental centers, public plazas, and many other spaces as testaments to individual and shared values. As spaces for gathering and exchange are necessary elements to urban life, architecture can also act as a vehicle to encourage understanding. Advocating knowledge while empowering the public, libraries celebrate ideas, curiosity and empathy.

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The World Architecture Festival invites shortlisted architects from around the world to present their projects in a range of categories, the winners of which are invited to present in front of a Super Jury for final selection.

In the 2019 version of the festival, LocHal Public Library by Civic Architects has been named the World Building of the Year concluding this year's three-day event in Amsterdam. This year's winner was selected from a strikingly broad shortlist that included works from offices such as Heatherwick Studio, CEBRA, Nikken Sekkei, and Roger Stirk Harbour + Partners.

2019 World Building of the Year:

Full Shortlist for 2019 World Building of the Year:

2019 Future Project of the Year Winner:

ADEPT / KARRES EN BRANDS / Transsolar / Büro Happold / Kraft - THE CONNECTED CITY Oberbillwerder, Hamburg, Germany

2019 INSIDE: World Interior of the Year Winner:

J.C. Architecture - JCA Living Lab, Taipei city, Taiwan

2019 Landscape of the Year (Rural) Winner:

Original Design Studio - Demonstration Section of Yangpu Riverside Public Space, Shanghai, China

2019 Small Project of the Year Prize:

Studio Link-Arc - Lokadhatu (The World), Zhangzhou, China

2019 Best Use of Certified Timber Prize:

Pingelly Recreation and Cultural Centre, Iredale Pedersen hook architects with Advanced Timber Concepts Studio, Pingelly, Australia

2019 Use of Colour Prize:

archimatika - Comfort Town, Kyiv, Ukraine

2019 Best Use of Natural Light Prize:

Hopkins Architects - Smith Campus Center, Harvard University, Boston, USA

2019 Engineering Prize:

SUP Atelier - Swirling Cloud: Bulletin Pavilion for BJFU Garden Festival, Beijing, China

2019 Student Charrette Final:

AMSA, Bridging the Disharmony- A case of Fishing Community, Penthakata Village, Puri, Odisha, School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal, India

You can review the full winners' list for each category below:

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LocHal Public Library Named 2019 Building of the Year at World Architecture Festival

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The World Architecture Festival invites shortlisted architects from around the world to present their projects in a range of categories, the winners of which are invited to present in front of a Super Jury for final selection.

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Libraries are centers of knowledge and learning around the world. They are home to all of the world's works and other forms of media, including films, CDs, videotapes, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, maps, e-books, audiobooks, and databases. The earliest libraries emerged not long after the first civilizations started keeping written records. These first libraries consisted of clay tablets and date back to around 2500 BCE. While nearly all of the libraries on this list have been destroyed, several complete works and fragments from their collections have survived.

9. Al-Qarawiyyin Library

Although there is one continuously existing library that is older, the al-Qarawiyyin Library is often believed to be the oldest library in the world. The library is apart of one of the oldest universities in the world and was first opened in 859 CE. It was founded by by Fatima al-Fihri, the daughter of a wealthy Tunisian merchant (she also founded the Qarawiyyin Mosque and Qarawiyyin University).

For the past several decades, most of the library has been closed off to all but a few scholars and students of the university because of extensive damage. In 2012, Morocco's Ministry of Culture contacted Aziza Chaouni, a Toronto-based architect and engineer, originally from Fez, Moroco, to assess the library's damage. Chaouni discovered that the library was rotting and that there was a river running underneath the floors. Since then, the library has had extensive renovations and was opened to the public sometime in 2017.

8. Saint Catherine's Monastery Library

The library at Saint Catherine's Monastery located at the foot of the legendary Mount Sinai, is the oldest continually operating library in the world. The monastery itself is also considered one of the oldest functioning Christian monasteries in the world and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Due to its age and importance in the Christian world, the monastery's library has the second largest collection of ancient manuscripts and codices, just after Vatican City.

The library houses several unique and important texts, including the Syriac Sinaiticus and, until 1859, the Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest known complete Bible dating back to around 345 CE. A few years ago, the UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Library began reproducing digital copies of about 1,100 unique Syriac and Arabic manuscripts from Saint Catherine's Monastery.

7. Imperial Library of Constantinople

The Imperial Library of Constantinople of the Byzantine Empire was the last great library of the ancient world. It was founded by Constantius II sometime during his reign between 337 - 361 CE. He established the library to preserve the surviving works of Greek literature and the library even contained the remnants of the Library of Alexandria. After Constantius II, Emperor Valens hired four Greek and three Latin calligraphers to make copies of the Greek works onto parchment, which lasted longer than papyrus. Nearly all of the Greek classics known today are from the Byzantine copies from the Imperial Library of Constantinople.

The library was partially destroyed by several fires and thousands of volumes were lost. However, some of them were saved and recopied. After the fall of Constantinople in 1204 CE, a formal imperial library was no longer maintained, but some texts have survived and were recovered in later centuries.

6. Theological Library of Caesarea Maritima

The Theological Library of Caesarea Maritima was the largest ecclesiastical library of the time, containing more than 30,000 Christian manuscripts. Origen of Alexandria - a Hellenistic scholar, ascetic, and early Christian theologian - and the scholarly presbyter Pamphilus of Caesarea, who were both avid collectors of Christian books were the main patrons of the library and helped it to achieve its large collection.

The Theological Library was so famous that several Christian scholars from other parts of the world came to study there, including Gregory Nazianzus, Basil the Great, and Jerome. Several priceless works were lost after the library declined in the mid-7 th century CE. Some of the library's treasures included the Gospel according to the Hebrews and Origen's personal copy of the Hexapla, which was a critical edition of the Hebrew Bible.

5. Library of Pergamum

The ancient Greek city of Pergamum (also called Pergamon) was an important cultural center of the ancient world, only rivaled by Alexandria and Antioch. Like Alexandria, Pergamum was home to a large library, which was second best in ancient Greece after the Library of Alexandria. According to the writings of Plutarch, the Library of Pergamum housed about 200,000 volumes. Unfortunately, no index or catalog of the library's works exist today, so no one knows for sure how large the library's collection was.

A distinguished citizen of the city and wife of a town Councillor, Flava Melitene, is largely responsible for supplying the library. She also presented a statue of the Roman Emperor Hadrian to the library as a gift. According to legend, the city claims that it invented parchment and the word parchment actually comes from a corruption of the word pergamenos, meaning "from Pergamon". However, this was just a myth (parchment had been in use in Anatolia long before Pergamum was established) as the city became known for producing parchment and storing its manuscripts on parchment instead of papyrus, which was monopolized by Alexandria.

4. Library of Alexandria

The Library of Alexandria is the best-known and largest libraries of the ancient world. It was located in the city of Alexandria in ancient Egypt, which was the major economic, cultural, and intellectual center of the world at the time. Alexander the Great, who is believed to have founded Alexandria, got the inspiration for his own grand library after visiting the Royal Library of Ashurbanipal. He wanted to collect the works of the people he conquered, convert them to Greek, and store them in a library of his own.

While he did not live long enough to see his dream come true, Ptolemy, who was one of his generals, began constructing the library around the 3 rd century. The Library of Alexandria is famous for collecting all of the world's knowledge at the time, translating the works onto papyrus scrolls, and storing them. The library flourished until the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE and it was burned down and thousands of scrolls were lost.

3. Royal Library of Ashurbanipal

Before the discovery of older ancient libraries in the early 20 th century, the Royal Library of Ashurbanipal was considered the first library or the oldest surviving royal library in the world. While we now know that older libraries exist, it was one of the first to implement a systematical organization of its material. The library was named for Ashurbanipal, the last great king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

When his empire had stabilized, Ashurbanipal built his royal library and filled it with texts covering a wide array of subjects, including medicine, mythology, magic, science, poetry and geography. The most famous text - that has mostly survived intact - from Ashurbanipal is the Epic of Gilgamesh. This tablet is regarded as the earliest surviving great work of literature.

2. Ugarit Library

When the Ugarit archives were discovered in 1929, archaeologists found more than one library. The thousands of clay tablets they uncovered revealed a palace library, a temple library, and two private libraries, one belonging to a diplomat named Rapanu. The two private libraries were unique in the world at the time and may have been some of the first libraries made for private, personal use.

The libraries contained diplomatic, legal, economic, administrative, scholastic, literary, and religious texts. At least seven different scripts were used in Ugarit, including Egyptian and Luwian hieroglyphs, and Cypro-Minoan, Sumerian, Akkadian, Hurrian, and Ugaritic cuneiform. The city's scribes developed the Ugaritic alphabet around 1400 BCE, which consisted of 30 letters, each corresponding to sounds. Although the letters were similar to other cuneiform signs, they were unique and the Ugaritic alphabet is considered to be the first alphabet in history.

1. Ebla Library

The Royal Library of the ancient Kingdom of Ebla is thought to be the oldest library in the world. The library was discovered in the years 1974 - 1976 by Italian archaeologists from the University of Rome La Sapienza. They found about 2,000 complete tablets ranging in size from 1 in to over a foot, 4,000 tablet fragments, and over 10,000 chips and small fragments. This collection of texts is the largest ever found from the 3 rd millennium BCE.

Unlike other ancient archives, there is evidence that suggests the tablets from the Ebla library were purposely arranged and even classified. The larger tablets were originally stored on shelves, but fell over when the palace was destroyed. Archaeologists were able to reconstruct the tablets' original positions and discovered that they had been arranged by subject. Additionally, the tablets show evidence of the early transcription of texts into foreign languages and scripts, classification and cataloging for easier retrieval, and arrangement by size, form and content.

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9 Oldest Libraries in the World | Oldest.org

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Libraries are centers of knowledge and learning around the world. They are home to all of the world's works and other forms of media, including films, CDs, videotapes, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, maps, e-books, audiobooks, and databases. The earliest libraries emerged not long after the first civilizations started keeping written records.

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1. The Library of Ashurbanipal

The world's oldest known library was founded sometime in the 7th century B.C. for the "royal contemplation" of the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal. Located in Nineveh in modern-day Iraq, the site included a trove of some 30,000 cuneiform tablets organized according to subject matter. Most of its titles were archival documents, religious incantations and scholarly texts, but it also housed several works of literature including the 4,000-year-old "Epic of Gilgamesh."

The book-loving Ashurbanipal compiled much of his library by looting works from Babylonia and the other territories he conquered. Archaeologists later stumbled upon its ruins in the mid-19th century, and the majority of its contents are now kept in the British Museum in London. Interestingly, even though Ashurbanipal acquired many of his tablets through plunder, he seems to have been particularly worried about theft. An inscription in one of the texts warns that if anyone steals its tablets, the gods will "cast him down" and "erase his name, his seed, in the land."

2. The Library of Alexandria

Following Alexander the Great's death in 323 B.C., control of Egypt fell to his former general Ptolemy I Soter, who sought to establish a center of learning in the city of Alexandria. The result was the Library of Alexandria, which eventually became the intellectual jewel of the ancient world. Little is known about the site's physical layout, but at its peak, it may have included over 500,000 papyrus scrolls containing works of literature and texts on history, law, mathematics and science. The library and its associated research institute attracted scholars from around the Mediterranean, many of whom lived on-site and drew government stipends while they conducted research and copied its contents. At different times, the likes of Strabo, Euclid and Archimedes were among the academics on site.

The great library's demise is traditionally dated to 48 B.C. when it supposedly burned after Julius Caesar accidentally set fire to Alexandria's harbor during a battle against the Egyptian ruler Ptolemy XIII. But while the blaze may have damaged the library, most historians now believe that it continued to exist in some form for several more centuries. Some scholars argue that it finally met its end in 270 A.D. during the reign of the Roman emperor Aurelian, while others believe that it came even later during the fourth century.

3. The Library of Pergamum

Constructed in the third century B.C. by members of the Attalid dynasty, the Library of Pergamum, located in what is now Turkey, was once home to a treasure trove of some 200,000 scrolls. It was housed in a temple complex devoted to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, and is believed to have comprised four rooms-three for the library's contents and another that served as a meeting space for banquets and academic conferences.

According to the ancient chronicler Pliny the Elder, the Library of Pergamum eventually became so famous that it was considered to be in "keen competition" with the Library of Alexandria. Both sites sought to amass the most complete collections of texts, and they developed rival schools of thought and criticism. There is even a legend that Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty halted shipments of papyrus to Pergamum in the hope of slowing its growth. As a result, the city may have later become a leading production center for parchment paper.

4. The Villa of the Papyri

While it wasn't the largest library of antiquity, the so-called "Villa of the Papyri" is the only one whose collection has survived to the present day. Its roughly 1,800 scrolls were located in the Roman city of Herculaneum in a villa that was most likely built by Julius Caesar's father-in-law, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus.

When nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D., the library was buried-and exquisitely preserved-under a 90-foot layer of volcanic material. Its blackened, carbonized scrolls weren't rediscovered until the 18th century, and modern researchers have since used everything from multispectral imaging to X-rays to try to read them. Much of the catalog has yet to be deciphered, but studies have already revealed that the library contains several texts by an Epicurean philosopher and poet named Philodemus.

5. The Libraries of Trajan's Forum

Sometime around 112 A.D., Emperor Trajan completed construction on a sprawling, multi-use building complex in the heart of the city of Rome. This Forum boasted plazas, markets and religious temples, but it also included one of the Roman Empire's most famous libraries. The site was technically two separate structures-one for works in Latin, and one for works in Greek.

The rooms sat on opposite sides of a portico that housed Trajan's Column, a large monument built to honor the Emperor's military successes. Both sections were elegantly crafted from concrete, marble and granite, and they included large central reading chambers and two levels of bookshelf-lined alcoves containing an estimated 20,000 scrolls. Historians are unsure of when Trajan's dual library ceased to exist, but it was still being mentioned in writing as late as the fifth century A.D., which suggests that it stood for at least 300 years.

6. The Library of Celsus

There were over two-dozen major libraries in the city of Rome during the imperial era, but the capital wasn't the only place that housed dazzling collections of literature. Sometime around 120 A.D., the son of the Roman consul Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus completed a memorial library to his father in the city of Ephesus (modern-day Turkey).

The building's ornate façade still stands today and features a marble stairway and columns as well as four statues representing Wisdom, Virtue, Intelligence and Knowledge. Its interior, meanwhile, consisted of a rectangular chamber and a series of small niches containing bookcases. The library may have held some 12,000 scrolls, but it most striking feature was no doubt Celsus himself, who was buried inside in an ornamental sarcophagus.

7. The Imperial Library of Constantinople

Long after the Western Roman Empire had gone into decline, classical Greek and Roman thought continued to flourish in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The city's Imperial Library first came into existence in the fourth century A.D. under Constantine the Great, but it remained relatively small until the fifth century when its collection grew to a staggering 120,000 scrolls and codices.

The size of the Imperial Library continued to wax and wane for the next several centuries due to neglect and frequent fires, and it later suffered a devastating blow after a Crusader army sacked Constantinople in 1204. Nevertheless, its scribes and scholars are now credited with preserving countless pieces of ancient Greek and Roman literature by making parchment copies of deteriorating papyrus scrolls.

8. The House of Wisdom

The Iraqi city of Baghdad was once one of the world's centers of learning and culture, and perhaps no institution was more integral to its development than the House of Wisdom. First established in the early ninth century A.D. during the reign of the Abbasids, the site was centered around an enormous library stocked with Persian, Indian and Greek manuscripts on mathematics, astronomy, science, medicine and philosophy.

The books served as a natural draw for the Middle East's top scholars, who flocked to the House of Wisdom to study its texts and translate them into Arabic. Their ranks included the mathematician al-Khawarizmi, one of the fathers of algebra, as well as the polymath thinker al-Kindi, often called "the Philosopher of the Arabs." The House of Wisdom stood as the Islamic world's intellectual nerve center for several hundred years, but it later met a grisly end in 1258, when the Mongols sacked Baghdad. According to legend, so many books were tossed into the River Tigris that its waters turned black from ink.

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Get the facts on eight of the most magnificent libraries of the ancient world.

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Project Team: Sam Dufaux, Anne Menke, Jason Anderson, Erica Goetz, Jesung Park, Karl Landsteiner, Evgeniya Plotnikova

Text description provided by the architects. WORKac has completed its new branch library in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens. The building has been a long time in the making. Initially commissioned by Queens Library through NYC's Department of Design and Construction in 2008, the library was among the first bevy of projects announced under DDC's Design + Construction Excellence Program, which since 2005 has directed selected civic projects to leading design firms. The much-awaited library opened to the public on September 6, 2017.

The library was already a key institution in the diverse community of Kew Gardens Hills, and it boasts some of the best attendance and circulation figures of any library nationwide. Community members' dedicated advocacy was pivotal in supporting a design that has provided the library with needed facilities and has given it a physical presence in keeping with institution's importance.

The project began as the renovation and 3,000-square-foot expansion of an existing Lindsey library from 1966. Its volume is still visible in the completed library. However, structural upgrades and new interior detailing have all but replaced the preexisting building with a new 10,000-square-foot space.

The focal point of the new design is the public space along the library's perimeter, occupying the setback between the preexisting building's footprint and the sidewalk. Capped by a green roof, this perimeter zone joins existing gardens around the library's back sides to form a continuous loop of green. Inside, the perimeter zone is conceived as a band of open rooms to be used by each of the library's different user groups: adults, teens, children and staff.

The new façade is a physical and metaphoric lifting up of the library's exterior walls in order to broadcast the activities of the library to the outside. At the site's most public corner, the roof reaches monumental scale. A second, smaller peak at the children's corner provides child-sized views to the south. Between these two peaks, the façade dips down to provide privacy at the staff and book drop areas behind. The section of the façade at the entrance folds out over the street to make an awning- reminiscent of a folded page in a book. On the north side, the façade descends again, providing privacy for a teen study area while also bridging the difference in scale between the library and its residential surroundings.

The façade is made from custom glass fiber-reinforced concrete panels. Their rippled, curtain-like pattern of vertical folds creates a play of light and shadow and softens the primarily glassy exterior. Beneath, large exterior windows provide direct natural light, while south- and east-facing clerestory windows provide indirect light that bounces off of the exposed concrete of the lifted facade. Not only expressive and functional but also structural, this concrete band acts as a 200-foot-long beam to support the green roof without interrupting the open interior. Two columns are the only supports for this beam.

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Project Team: Sam Dufaux, Anne Menke, Jason Anderson, Erica Goetz, Jesung Park, Karl Landsteiner, Evgeniya Plotnikova Text description provided by the architects. WORKac has completed its new branch library in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens. The building has been a long time in the making.

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https://www.archdaily.com.br/br/946329/biblioteca-do-instituto-de-belas-artes-de-sichuan-tanghua-architect-and-associates

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Descrição enviada pela equipe de projeto. A biblioteca está localizada em um terreno montanhoso, envolto por arrozais. A forma minimalista e holística do edifício se distingue dos outros edifícios menores e espalhados pelo campus.

A forma arquitetônica é derivada da arquitetura vernacular do campo.

Portanto, o volume simplista maximiza a versatilidade do espaço, implicando também na estrutura espacial das habitações tradicionais da região de Sichuan. Tijolos cinzentos são usados para as paredes externas, de modo a refletir a linguagem arquitetônica.

As paredes internas e a estrutura aparente são construídos em concreto para ressoar, entretanto também para distinguir, a cor e a textura do exterior. A madeira é usada tanto no exterior e interior para intensificar ainda mais essa ressonância.

Todas as fachadas em empena e os jardins de cobertura compreendem grandes áreas envidraçadas para expor as atividades interiores ao exterior e convidar os usuários a contemplarem as vistas da paisagem.

Publicado originalmente em 19 de setembro de 2015.

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Biblioteca do Instituto de Belas Artes de Sichuan / Tanghua Architect & Associates

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Mais informações Menos informações Descrição enviada pela equipe de projeto. A biblioteca está localizada em um terreno montanhoso, envolto por arrozais. A forma minimalista e holística do edifício se distingue dos outros edifícios menores e espalhados pelo campus. A forma arquitetônica é derivada da arquitetura vernacular do campo.

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https://www.archdaily.com.br/br/940703/biblioteca-da-escola-umbrella-savana-lazaretti-arquitetura-e-design-sensorial

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Descrição enviada pela equipe de projeto. O Projeto da Biblioteca para a Escola Umbrella foi concebido com o intuito de criar um ambiente lúdico, sensorial e na escala dos usuários. Um ambiente que pudesse conectar o aluno ao universo da leitura e das trocas de experiências gerando assim uma memória afetiva positiva da relação escola-infância-aprender. O ponto de partida do projeto foi o desenvolvimento de um volume central circular em madeira e aço com múltiplas funções.

Na parte interna, o volume abraça a criança convidando para momentos de contação de histórias; na parte externa o volume abriga uma bancada circular para explorar o conhecimento através da tecnologia. O volume tem ainda como finalidade o armazenamento de livros e na parte superior um lounge para relaxar e embarcar na leitura. Além deste ponto central, a biblioteca é composta por cabines para estudo em formato orgânico, áreas com poltronas e mesas para atividades com uma linda vista para o bosque da escola. As estantes tem altura compatível com a escala dos alunos facilitando o acesso e consequentemente o interesse pelos livros.

A composição dos elementos utilizados no projeto como o madeirado, as cores sólidas, o mobiliário orgânico, as luminárias entre outros itens fazem um contraponto com a estrutura metálica aparente e trouxeram ao ambiente harmonia , aconchego e estímulo na dose certa.

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Biblioteca da Escola Umbrella / Savana Lazaretti Arquitetura e Design Sensorial

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Construído na 2020 na Curitiba, Brasil. Imagens do Renata Salles. O Projeto da Biblioteca para a Escola Umbrella foi concebido com o intuito de criar um ambiente lúdico, sensorial e na escala dos usuários. Um...

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Text description provided by the architects. Loft Library is an ingenious conversion of a trussed rafter roof through the insertion of plywood arches to form integrated structure and shelving for a large collection of books.

Loft Library responds to the client's brief to provide 40 linear meters of book storage for a two-storey end of terrace house in Walthamstow, East London. The construction of the house built in the 1980's was brick cavity walls with a trussed rafter roof. The single pitch of the roof formed a space at one end of the loft which was not easy to access due to the proliferation of diagonal members in the timber trusses. As the client's budget was limited it was decided to work within the fabric of the existing building rather than create a new loft structure or extension. By replacing the diagonal truss members with plywood arches the Loft Library was formed with a stair access, small bench, shelves between arches and a study space at the end.

The material used for all surfaces was 18mm spruce plywood. For the curved arches detailed measurements were taken of the existing loft space by the architects, templates drawn in CAD and plywood elements cut precisely to size and shape by the CNC cutting service Cut & Construct. The plywood elements were provided to the main contractor as a "client supply" item and had screw-holes and item numbers cut into the material to ensure quick and easy assembly. Three vertical triple glazed windows were installed on the north elevation between the trussed rafters to provide light and rhythm to the library and study space. An additional window on the west elevation was installed to catch the warm evening sun.

The Loft Library has created 10sqm of new floor space through the innovative adaptation and restructuring of the loft space. Working with the engineers Corbett & Tasker an expressive structural solution was developed to replace the diagonal timber members with an enfilade of structural plywood arches. The roof structure was left in place throughout the works thus saving on the additional expense of rain-proofing the construction site. Quotations for the supply, cutting and delivery of the plywood arches, staircase, shelves, bench and desk were sought prior to tender so that the risk of an apparently complex architectural proposal wouldn't overpriced by tendering contractors.

Spruce plywood was chosen over birch plywood as it was both cheaper and has a more expressive timber grain. The fire retardant treatment of the timber surfaces was a non-hazardous, non-toxic, low viscosity clear water based product called Flametect C-WD. This was over-coated with OSMO Polyx Oil. LED lighting strips of 300lumen/metre were installed in the centre of each bay to illuminate the books and integrate with the rhythm of the arches.

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Text description provided by the architects. Loft Library is an ingenious conversion of a trussed rafter roof through the insertion of plywood arches to form integrated structure and shelving for a large collection of books. Loft Library responds to the client's brief to provide 40 linear meters of book storage for a two-storey end of terrace house in Walthamstow, East London.

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Benedito Leite, na capital, tem 140 mil exemplares nacionais e estrangeiros, além de raridades como manuscritos do século XVI, jornais do século XIX. Há 1.047 títulos em Braille

Da Agência de Notícias do Maranhão | De São Luís (MA)

Com muitas razões para comemorar, a Biblioteca Pública Benedito Leite completou 188 anos de fundação na última sexta-feira, 3.

Recentemente incluída entre as 15 mais bonitas do Brasil e localizada em área revitalizada no centro de São Luís (o que realçou ainda mais a beleza do seu prédio estilo neoclássico), a instituição se destaca pela raridade de seu acervo, referência em acessibilidade, e como disseminadora de cultura em todo o estado.

Com diversos projetos em andamento, a Biblioteca realiza periodicamente ações de incentivo à leitura, à literatura e ao livro, além de promover exposições, sessões de cinema, visita guiada entre outras atividades. Está entre as casas de cultura mais visitadas com média mensal de 8 mil visitantes.

O acervo digital possui raridades como os 800 manuscritos (o mais antigo de 1539), 558 jornais, incluindo edições que circularam até o século XIX, as mais procurada por pesquisadores. No total são mais de 3 mil documentos digitalizados, entre manuscritos, obras raras e jornais.

Outro avanço nos últimos anos é o crescimento do número de novos leitores mesmo em tempos de internet. "O resultado é refletido no quantitativo de novas carteiras de usuários, no número de visitantes, no acesso ao acervo digital, na frequência diária aos espaços, principalmente nos destinados a crianças e jovens", informou a diretora da BPBL, Aline Nascimento.

Na área de acessibilidade, a Biblioteca possui um acervo de 1.047 títulos de livros impressos em Braille, audiolivros, filmes e livros em formatos acessíveis e equipamentos de tecnologia assistiva.

A BPBL também coordena o Sistema Estadual de Bibliotecas Públicas atuando na perspectiva de integrar as bibliotecas existentes em vários municípios do Maranhão. "Um bom exemplo são as unidades revitalizadas da rede Farol do Saber, em diversas cidades maranhenses elas estão transformando os espaços de leitura em centros culturais, oferecendo à comunidade oficinas de leitura, apresentações musicais, saraus de poesia e outras atividades socioeducativas e recreativas".

A Biblioteca Pública Benedito Leite (1831) está, junto com a Biblioteca do Mosteiro de São Bento (1581-1582), em Salvador, e com a Biblioteca Nacional (1808-1810), no Rio de Janeiro, entre as mais antigas do Brasil.

O acervo da biblioteca maranhense soma mais de 140 mil exemplares nacionais e estrangeiras, formado principalmente por obras raras e a mais completa coleção de jornais maranhenses.

Imagem em destaque: a Biblioteca Pública Benedito Leite. Foto: Divulgação Governo do Maranhão

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Das mais antigas do Brasil, biblioteca no Maranhão é referência

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Benedito Leite, na capital, tem 140 mil exemplares nacionais e estrangeiros, além de raridades como manuscritos do século XVI, jornais do século XIX. Há 1.047 títulos em Braille Da Agência de Notícias do Maranhão | De São Luís (MA) Com muitas razões para comemorar, a Biblioteca Pública Benedito Leite completou 188 anos de fundação na última sexta-feira, 3.

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Text description provided by the architects. Abstract The King Fahad National Library, one of the most important cultural buildings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was completed and went into use for its intended purpose in November 2013. This project sees Professor Eckhard Gerber and his Gerber Architekten team accomplishing one of the most important urban development and cultural projects in the capital, Riyadh. The design functions as the central driving force behind a piece of urban development and rearrangement, and combines the challenge of designing within the existing building stock with respect for Arabian culture.

The symbolic cuboid shape of the new building surrounds the existing building on all sides, thus presenting the National Library as a new architectural image in the Riyadh cityscape without abandoning the old building, which now operates as an internal stack, making it the centre of knowledge within the new library as a whole. The square new building is covered by a filigree textile façade following traditional Middle Eastern architectural patterns and linking them with state of the art technology. The design goes back to the early days of an international competition dating from 2003. When the National Library is completed, Gerber Architekten will be working on planning the Olaya Metro Station, another of this country's major projects.

Urban development concept

The King Fahad National Library represents the new centre of the rapidly changing Olaya District, and stands out clearly from the heterogeneous existing building pattern. The square new building in the centre of the urban park looks open and light, and is tied into the urban space despite its size. Gerber Architekten designed the existing park including parts of the available green space as a spacious square, and this and the library now form an urban unit. Thus the National Library becomes the iconographic centre of a prestigious urban quarter that will become increasingly important in future years.

The site links King Fahd Road and Olaya Street, the two main traffic axes of the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The new urban square described above was created on Olaya Street, offering pedestrians direct access to the library and guaranteeing an attractive space in which to spend time despite the heavy traffic. This new square echoes the surrounding basic structure of public squares, in which desolate and neglected building plots are redesigned as green oases. These are intended for various new leisure and recreational activities in the district. The new library stands as an important element of this spatial sequence, and makes a contribution to transforming the area into a lively and complex new urban quarter.

Architectural concept

Gerber Architekten developed a cuboid building surrounding the existing library on all sides, thus presenting the National Library as a new architectural image within Riyadh 's urban space. The new building encloses the old one protectively, and combines itself with it in an unusual way, following monument preservation principles. The cruciform existing building, topped by a dome, is concealed inside the new building. The old structure is integrated as a building within a building, while its existing dome - originally in concrete - has now been reconstructed in steel and glass, and continues to be a cultural symbol of the library. The entire former roof of the existing building, which occupies an extensive area, now provides a reading landscape flooded with light and offers a special atmosphere that will encourage the exchange of knowledge in this way. Inside - as if hidden in a treasure chest, a knowledge storehouse - are the book stacks. Visitors access the open-access sections on the third floor of the new building via bridges from the reading area. Everything is covered by a new roof, punctuated by skylights under which white membranes gently distribute the light throughout the entire interior.

The main entrance hall is on the ground floor, which also houses exhibition areas, a restaurant and a bookshop. A library area for women only, in which they can spend time without a burka, is provided on the first floor of the new south wing; this space is separated from the other building uses, and is also accessed separately.

Façade concept

The key element of the façade was developed especially for the new building. It is a cladding made up of rhomboid textile awnings, marked by its play with revealing and concealing. Inserted white membranes, supported by a three-dimensional, tensile-stressed steel cable structure, act as sunshades and interpret the Arabian tent structure tradition in a modern, technological way. This sequence of old and new creates a uniform and prestigious overall architectural appearance with characteristic styling. At night the façade glows with changing colours and becomes the city's cultural lighthouse.

This filigree steel cable structure has a solar penetration level of only 7 per cent, and at the same time makes it possible to look both in and out. Given exterior temperatures of up to 50o Celsius, the membrane façade, which was optimised in relation to the local sun path by means of complex, three-dimensional light refraction, combines the required protection from the sun with maximum light penetration and transparency.

This façade was combined with ventilation and cooling for the building by means of layered ventilation and floor cooling. In this way, thermal comfort is increased and energy consumption significantly reduced by using certain methods and technologies for the first time in the Arab world. "The theme of sustainability using up-to-date energy concepts and rational building structures runs through all our activities as a crucial idea that is taken for granted." (Prof. Eckhard Gerber)

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King Fahad National Library / Gerber Architekten

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Text description provided by the architects. Abstract The King Fahad National Library, one of the most important cultural buildings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was completed and went into use for its intended purpose in November 2013.

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Text description provided by the architects. The idea of the future sprawl of the Catholic University premises in Ružomberok was already outlined in an architectural and urban design competition for a university campus in 2006. The project of a new library was prepared in 2009 - 2010 and the construction itself started in July 2011. The library building is part, respectively the first phase of the university campus design. Residence halls, superstructures of the Faculty of Arts and Letters and the Faculty of Education buildings, the Faculty of Law building, a chapel, new auditorium, concert hall and underground parking should be completed in the future steps following the complete spatial development study.

The building offers students and the public an access to about 700,000 volumes, approximately 500 study areas, conference and exhibition spaces and other additional facilities on an area of approximately 5 000 m2 designated for public functions. Due to the requirements for the library to be a modern tool of time providing information and a wide range of education or cultural and social life, the space is designed to be open and multifunctional with several ways of resource search and studies, offering secondary opportunities (e.g. lectures, training, publishing, literary and artistic club activities, multimedia activities, cultural and social events).

From an architectural point of view, the library is interconnected to the existing (or the anticipated) volume and operational campus structure whose basis is formed by the original structure by architect Škorupa. The operation of publicly accessible spaces of the library is divided into three above ground floors and one underground floor (including the part of the fourth above ground floor with clubs, cultural and social spaces).

The ground floor consists of entrance spaces, information and control zone (registration, circulation desk), library's spaces - catalogues, quick choice sections (textbooks, magazines, internet, freely accessible library stock, study areas and working points). There are open mezzanine levels extending from the library's entrance area through all public floors, being the vertical center of communication.

The second and third above ground floors contain sections of freely accessible library stocks, study areas (including a quiet study room and offices for smaller groups), conference and multimedia rooms.

The fourth above ground floor has a specific nature that enables the visitors to view the library as a multifunction hub offering club activities (literary, artistic or a mix of artistic genres), cultural and social activities (presentations of literature and art works, exhibitions, openings, space for discussion forums, multimedia presentations, etc.). This includes the use of the roof space on the 3rd elevated floor as an open space for exhibitions or assembling. This space is also interconnected with a small coffee lounge at the entrance of the library.

The building has been implemented as a monolithic reinforced skeleton. The facade is of vertically structured, metallic Alucobond panels with inserted aluminum windows, supporting the used raster. The building parts are complemented with a whole glazed facade (the administrative part of the building, the entrance area of the library, part of the study areas).

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Text description provided by the architects. The idea of the future sprawl of the Catholic University premises in Ružomberok was already outlined in an architectural and urban design competition for a university campus in 2006. The project of a new library was prepared in 2009 - 2010 and the construction itself started in July 2011.

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Text description provided by the architects. The renovation and addition to the McHenry Library renews a campus icon. The original library, designed by John Carl Warnecke and built in 1968, is a modernist and beloved structure of concrete and glass that sits amongst a grove of redwood trees at the heart of the campus. The 162,000sf building was given an extensive and intricate structural upgrade and interior renovation. A 118,000sf addition was designed to complement the original modernist structure through repetition of materials, scale and form.

Re-organizing the interior maximizes the use of daylighting. Seismic, life safety and technology upgrades were designed to maximize building efficiency.

The new wing respects the integrity of the existing building while continuing the balance between building and context. The lines of the original building are extended into the addition, their texture, proportion and rhythm are reinterpreted. The regular pattern of glass and concrete is echoed in the addition, but now reflects internal program elements. Nearly 40% of the building is in fenestration.

The library collection was moved onto compact shelving in the central core, affording protection from daylight and improving floorplate efficiency. A centrally-located cafe, extensive soft seating, reading porches and study rooms are designed to offer a variety of studying options and gathering spaces.

A new interior â€˜streetâ€™ organizes the program elements, improving wayfinding and functionality. A commons at the intersection of the addition and the renovation on the main level accommodates computer stations and information desks in a flexible hub of activity. Wireless and fiber-optic communication is provided, increasing the usability of all library spaces.

By placing seating and social area on the building perimeter, students can take advantage of daylight and forest views offered from extensive floor-to-ceiling windows.

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Text description provided by the architects. The renovation and addition to the McHenry Library renews a campus icon. The original library, designed by John Carl Warnecke and built in 1968, is a modernist and beloved structure of concrete and glass that sits amongst a grove of redwood trees at the heart of the campus.

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'To rebel with a cause'; The big blank concrete central library- the Yogananda library of the Shoolini University in Solan, overlooks a beautiful green valley. Sitting in the landscape as an impassive built piece, peacefully positioned, the building stands out reflecting the nature of its function and physically manifests the philosophy of this biotechnology campus.

Conceptually, this four-floor structure is an intense interconnected volume of voids and solids, connecting the entire building as a large functional plate. It starts as a narrow strip of an extroverted, yet shaded space on the lower two floors. These are research cells and discussion areas of senior students and faculty.

The upper two floors are made deeper as the contours recede and the front remains aligned. This allows a large central courtyard that pours uniform indirect light into all the parts of the built floors. The courtyards connect playfully in voids and volumes as they broaden up to the terrace to become a natural container of light. This unrestricted light but controlled temperature and views bring the required climatic control within the building.

Functionally, the library books stack up on the periphery, with a row of reading bays forming an inner ring with a center, being a bright green inspiring space. This physical introversion and philosophical introspection in a study environment brings in a sense of silence, creating a sacred space for knowledge and learning in an educational campus.

The terrace is a lush green extension of the central courtyard. One could bring books away from the confines of a traditional library stack and read on the refreshing grass, sun bathing on these winter foothills. The greens keep the latent temperatures of the structure in check to add to comfort within.

The green roofs bring in a level of drama, as one ascends through these large steps. One could casually climb the spacious stairs and use the steps to surf for books. Seating on steps, lighting from top onto the books and the strong directional volume thus created aids in pulling people and uplifts them, literally. The circulation space is thus reinterpreted as a bright yellow, clean white and raw grey contrast. They work well against each other to give this reinvented route, a refreshing look and feel.

Last, but not least, the fair faced concrete facade is a two-face phenomenon. The inner face of concrete bears the load of the entire shelving system of the library and it's books. The concrete wall is supported by seemingly intersecting concrete columns; an interpretation of the most fundamental element of biotechnology and reflection of the university's logo. The clean facade of concrete and recessed glass brings out the fundamental function of the building.

The spatial superstructure and the exclusivity of the elevation, elevates the role of the library on the campus and evaluates the campus for it's international sensibility. It gives the university an apt image, an ideal icon.

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'To rebel with a cause'; The big blank concrete central library- the Yogananda library of the Shoolini University in Solan, overlooks a beautiful green valley. Sitting in the landscape as an impassive built piece, peacefully positioned, the building stands out reflecting the nature of its function and physically manifests the philosophy of this biotechnology campus.

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Text description provided by the architects. Intervention in a space of this kind means a job of strata, successive throughout his long life.

The typology of this place is no different from the typical that can be found, with minor variations, in the center of Madrid. Such spaces at the street with parallel structure to the walls of the main facade and a basement below ground level that has neither natural light nor ventilation. It holds no other tasks that serve as a warehouse.

By the time we receive the job, we found a long succession of these actions along the building's history and what we offer is a simplification exercise. We simply provide an attractive space that is capable of serving as a container for the uncertainties of the program. It was never clear how many square meters would occupy the area of afternoon coffee or the amount of books that would go on sale and how many different issues, or presentations and events of various kinds had to be on the top floor or below or evening cocktails weekend and revenue could sum up more surface than other different uses.

It follows the result. To this we add a really tight budget. We get a space that has direct reference to the New York loft and referrals to the art galleries of the early seventies. The idea was to design a site with an important legacy. It should be able to converse with the various activities that take place there and to the different types of visitors. This is a cleaning and lighting job in the very literal sense of the word. We had to expand the industrial side of this place and to file the excess of minimalism, in which it is easy to fall but we were not ready. Therefore, white paint, garage flooring, naked daylight bulbs should be complemented by an intense spatial relationship. Also a series of interrelated spaces should be developed, in order to provide a sensory experience of the visit. Should be a place of action more than for observation.

The place calls the attention of passers from the street by a large and light bare space that gives us the impression that there is sufficient height and surface to hold all you could be offered. We convey the idea of space left over; there will be far from being tightened ... Inside, continuous drift between haphazardly arranged tables and neither empty nor totally full shelves. In the back there is a more intimate and relaxed atmosphere painted in a wine colour, while a glass floor reveals a striking orange to invite to continue the journey. We are led to a basement that will serve as exhibition gallery even if it has to live with other programs.

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Text description provided by the architects. Intervention in a space of this kind means a job of strata, successive throughout his long life. The typology of this place is no different from the typical that can be found, with minor variations, in the center of Madrid.

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Text description provided by the architects. The building is sited within a complex urban condition, where a fully operational Light Rail Transit Line crosses the site from above to below ground on a curved half- moon path, dividing Downtown and East Village. In response, the design lifts the main entry over the encapsulated train line. Gently terraced slopes rise up to the heart of the building, allowing for people arriving from every direction to interact with the library.

Outdoor amphitheaters nestled into the terraces provide places
for people to sit and for library programs to spill outside. Plantings that reference the native landscape draw Calgary 's mountains and prairies into the cityscape, and line the plaza's surrounding streets with elms and aspen trees. Doubling as a portal and a bridge, the entry plaza heals the previously-split seam between the two neighborhoods and re-establishes visual and pedestrian connections across the site.

The dynamic, triple-glazed façade is composed of a modular, hexagonal pattern that expresses the library's aims to provide a space that invites in all visitors. Aggregated variations on the hexagon form scatter across the building's curved surface in alternating panels of fritted glass and occasional iridescent aluminum. From these shapes emerge familiar forms: Parts of the pattern might resemble an open book, snowflake-like linework, or interlocking houses, anchoring the ideas of the collective and community. Most importantly, the entire building volume is enclosed in the same pattern, allowing all sides to function as the "front" of the building. This visual vocabulary continues inside, expressed in the design of CPL's new visual identity and wayfinding signage in the building, unifying the library's goals of inclusivity.

The crystalline geometry of the façade is carved away to reveal an expansive wood archway that embraces visitors as they approach. Framing the entrance of the building, the form references the Chinook cloud arches common to the region. Created entirely of planks of western red cedar from nearby British Columbia, the double- curved shell is among one of the largest freeform timber shell in the world. Its organic form and texture bring the large building down to a tactile, intimate scale. Visible from the outside of the building is the main atrium, inviting people in.

As the archway continues into the lobby and atrium, the wood spirals upwards over 85 feet to a view of the sky through the oculus. Wood slats line the perimeter of the open atrium, shaped in plan like a pointed ellipse, serving as an orientation device for people to quickly grasp the circulation and organizational logic of the library. Inside, the concrete structure is left exposed and unfinished, hinting at the open-ended possibilities within. The rhythm of beams and columns are reminiscent of a stoa, the public, open-air colonnades of ancient Greek architecture that doubled as spaces of gathering and intellectual exchange. The rawness of the material palette is intended to give people the sense that the library is a place of engagement, rather than a sacrosanct repository for books.

Organized on a spectrum of 'Fun' to 'Serious,' the library program locates the livelier public activities on the lower floors, gradually transitioning to quieter study areas on the upper levels as one spirals upwards. At the street level, a series of multi-purpose rooms line the perimeter of the building, enhancing the connectivity between inside and outside. On the ground floor, a Children's Library offers playhouses that provide space for crafts and drawing-based activities, early literacy programs, and a full-body indoor play experience.

Throughout the six floors, a variety of spaces provide for digital, analog, group, and individual interactions. At the uppermost level of the library is the Great Reading Room, conceived as a jewel box tucked within the library, which provides a space
for focused study and inspiration. Readers enter through a transitional space with softened light and acoustics. Within, vertical wood slats line the space to provide both privacy and visibility, defining an interior space without using solid walls. Natural light illuminates the space through the wood slats creating glancing sightlines between the atrium and western façade.

Arriving at the northernmost point of the library, one finds oneself at the Living Room, overlooking the train line and the meeting point of the two neighborhoods. Filled with light and activity, this prow of the building will not only serve as a beacon to those outside, inviting them to enter, but also as a prospect for looking back out - a fitting vantage point to observe the impact of a building that hopes to re-energize the spirit of culture, learning, and community in Calgary.

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Text description provided by the architects. The building is sited within a complex urban condition, where a fully operational Light Rail Transit Line crosses the site from above to below ground on a curved half- moon path, dividing Downtown and East Village. In response, the design lifts the main entry over the encapsulated train line.

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Text description provided by the architects. The San Angel Branch of the Péndulo Bookstore Chain was commissioned by the Instituto Cultural Helenico, to complement it's cultural complex of theatres and humanities school, and to create a cultural hub in the southern part of Mexico City. The project emerges from a pre-existing raised "plaza" in the front of the site and works around a large ash tree and an imposing palm. The building borrows from the theatre the concept of "stages" or platforms at different levels, where from you can see and be seen, all within a large "hangar" like space.Multiple activities coexist in these "stages": bookstore/design store, restaurant and lounge bar, all surrounded by two levels of books, and unified bellow a wooden pergola.

Different materials and lighting bring warmth and individuality to each level and activity. Circulation patterns offer variety of experiences to move around and inhabit the space. The interior is arranged around two axis, one from a busy avenue to a quiet garden in the back, and the other from the theatre vestibule to a huge wall of books. The palm tree, housed in a chimney like louvered enclosure, serves as the commanding fulcrum for the entire composition.

A light steel structural system which include the bookshelves themselves as anti-simic diaphragms, together with a sensitive use of materials allowed for an open yet intimate feeling of the space. The discreet facade, covered with ondulated alluminum, wood planks and large windows, are perfectly integrated between the existing theatre structure by reknowned architect Pedro Ramirez Vazquez and the neighbouring headquartes of the Federal Judiciary Building by Ricardo Legorreta, from which it borrows some of its color palette. The project was recently awarded best building of the year at Expo Cihac Premio Escala Competition.

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El Péndulo Library / Aizenman-Arquitectura

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Text description provided by the architects. The San Angel Branch of the Péndulo Bookstore Chain was commissioned by the Instituto Cultural Helenico, to complement it's cultural complex of theatres and humanities school, and to create a cultural hub in the southern part of Mexico City.

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That Is Only Possible There. When building public architecture, especially in a rural region, we believe that the utmost importance is to create a building that is only possible there. By drawing upon the historical context of an area, we want to create meaning of the architecture to situate in the area.

A Town Called Yukuhashi. Yukuhashi City, in Fukuoka Prefecture, is located about 25 kilometers South-Southeast of Kitakyūshū City. It is a central city of the Keichiku Region with a population of roughly 70,000 people and, in recent years, has become a commuter town for those working in Kitakyūshū City. The name "Yukuhashi" comes from a merger between two former villages by the municipal system: the [行- read as "yu"] from the former Gyōji Village (旧 行事町) and the [橋] from the former Ōhashi Village (旧大 橋 町) make [Yukuhashi・行橋]. The planned site of the project was positioned along the right bank of the Nagao River on the boundary between the former Gyōji and Ōhashi villages while repairing and preserving the townscape of the two former village areas.

Come the Meiji Era, the Yukuhashi branch of the Old Hyakusanju Bank (now known as the Yukuhashi Red Brick Gallery) was erected in front of the planned site. Supervised by Tatsuno Kingo, the Red Brick Gallery symbolized the economic power that Gyōji and Ōhashi held at the time and still remains a building of great significance today.

Architecture That Embodies Difference. This project served to spark improvements to user-friendliness for local residents and create a bustling city center. The expectation was not only of a library that could attract many visitors but a multi-purpose complex that could facilitate civic activities as well as child-care support.

We sought to build something here that could simultaneously embody the differing properties of symbolism and locality, and prosperity and serenity, using the rich history of the two regions that came together to become Yukuhashi.

Twisting Space. The upper and lower levels were purposefully twisted to face the Former Gyōji and Ōhashi Villages, respectively. Then, the building was zoned so that the lower level could be crowded and hectic and the upper level could be increasingly quieter to accommodate various functional demands. The lower level faces the Red Brick Gallery and pays homage to its history while also handling local activities and giving the town a novel opulence. Meanwhile, with scenic views of the Nagasa River and surrounding mountains, the layout of the upper level makes for a tranquil space that is ideal for reading seats and study areas.

Tremendous effort was devoted to organizing the logistics of bringing these twisting levels to fruition. The steel construction of the upper level lightens the cubic volume and makes the large overhanging possible and the steel-framed reinforced concrete construction of the lower level effectively propagates the stress from the steel frame of the upper level. Not only did we make the openness of the space compatible with the misaligned design, we were also able to make the building economical and earthquake-proof.

Architecture That Spins History. In the city center stands a twisting building. Its entire appearance may be atypical, but depending on which angle it is viewed from, it seamlessly blends in with the surrounding residential area.

The twisting frame uses the locality and its past as a starting point and then incorporates numerous functional demands. Even if the purposes it serves change over time, the structure will surely last. Finally, within the historical context of this place, we hope that this building will continue to spins history.

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Librio Yukuhashi Library / MIKAMI Architects

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That Is Only Possible There. When building public architecture, especially in a rural region, we believe that the utmost importance is to create a building that is only possible there. By drawing upon the historical context of an area, we want to create meaning of the architecture to situate in the area.

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Text description provided by the architects. As part of a two steps project's competition organized in 2010 for the new library of the city of Spiez, the jury awarded the first place to the "Buchwert" project ("book-treasure", word game of the term " book value ") designed by 'bauzeit architekten' office in Biel.

The project consists of a two levels wooden building, which forms an 'ensemble' with two existing buildings; the school and the main municipal,'s administration building. On the first floor, we find an extension for the municipal's administration (social services), on the ground floor the library and the game library for kids. The first phase of the detailed project was spread from 2011 to 2013, followed by the realization and the end of works in autumn 2014.

The new building as part of the ensemble of public buildings defines, with its geometry, the surrounding space: in the eastern side, the park with its exotic trees maintains a clear spatial framework, while on the western side a sufficient distance is maintain between the residential neighbourhood area and the public buildings. In the North, it joins at the foot of the hill of the vineyards of Spiez.

The building's exterior aspects, clearly affirms itself as a public building in several ways: The wooden facades, exempt of any iconographic element, which can express a use, present a rhythm which gives a unity to the volume. They provoke a certain monumentalization but also a calmness which confers to the building a modest presence. The envelope reminds of a book's structure on shelves. The wooden building integrates the ancient local tradition, without imitating the forms.

Massive wooden beams, which guaranty both sun protection and also acts as a vertical balustrade, are milled with approximately 172 books and game titles, in honour of the work of their authors. They inspired the ancient building's friezes in wood in the Bernese Oberland, which crossed the centuries and the words of which question us with delicacy. The facade of the new building sends back to these former processes of the joiners, attached to look after the technique and after the contents. To realize this handwork in this scale is not payable any more today. The typographic data were thus burnt by means of a milling cutter CNC in the wood, sometimes in high relief, sometimes in bas-relief. According to the light and the weather situation, the words are sometimes readable only by looking at it closer. With the erosion of time, their outlines are going to become milder, to crack and to receive the patina of the sun, maybe up to a certain fuzziness. They are going to age and to become more alive and more beautiful. This work led to Spiez's Corporate Design of the library, and was also used for its internal signage-system.

Constructing with Swiss Wood

The building's structure used prefabricated wooden elements for both walls and slabs. The client's wish was to use certified Swiss wood. The slabs are constituted by prefabricated elements with hollow structure. The external walls are made by frames with posts and beams in laminated wood. The exterior is covered with a wooden cladding in massive wood. The cladding of the facade age well and can be repaired easily; at all or punctually replaced if need be, as for the old constructions in the 'Oberland'. The internal side is covered with panels in laminated wood too (walls and ceiling) that confers a specifically character to the interior atmosphere.

The organization of the internal spaces can be freely modified thanks to the not carrier walls of separation. While in this period the timbers often imported from foreign countries because of the monetary situation of Switzerland, it is necessary to underline the exceptional fact that more than 98% of the 451m3 of wood used for the construction of the building results from Swiss forests managed durably.

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Library, Game Library & Municipality Administration in Spiez / bauzeit architekten

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Text description provided by the architects. As part of a two steps project's competition organized in 2010 for the new library of the city of Spiez, the jury awarded the first place to the "Buchwert" project ("book-treasure", word game of the term " book value ") designed by 'bauzeit architekten' office in Biel.

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Design Team: Daniel Mejía, Sara Ramírez, Carlos García, Felipe López, Maria F. Hormaza, Juan S. Tabares,

Production And Set Up Team: PLASMA NODO + Laura Palacio (www.vidautil.co)

Text description provided by the architects. 9 ¾ is a bookstore cafe specialized in children, but where adults can also have some fun.

We believe that cities need warm and nice meeting places that welcome us and invite us to learn having fun with our families and friends, sites where people not only buy but go and have a good time.

The areas for children in 9 3/4 are small hiding spots or places where they can draw, rest and play while learning and enjoying a good book. For grown-ups there are private reading rooms and also tables for sharing, all surrounded by warm materials, furniture and decoration objects that speak of the joy that gives us a good story, a good book.

Our coffee is one of the best in town, prepared by experts and broght from the best Colombian origins.

We believe in imagination, in magic, in dreams, in memories. We believe that the best ideas and conversations come easily with a good cup of coffee. We know that technology can be the magic wand to enter unimaginable worlds but it will never dethrone the King: the book.

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Design Team: Daniel Mejía, Sara Ramírez, Carlos García, Felipe López, Maria F. Hormaza, Juan S. Tabares, Production And Set Up Team: PLASMA NODO + Laura Palacio (www.vidautil.co) Text description provided by the architects. 9 ¾ is a bookstore cafe specialized in children, but where adults can also have some fun.

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Completed in 2015 in Monterrey, Mexico. Images by Estudio Tampiquito. Conarte is the council for culture and art in the city of Monterrey, Mexico. Conarte aims to promote and stimulate artistic expression and supports…

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Text description provided by the architects. A bookstore with a meeting place. This was the main premise of the architectural project of the bookstore Livraria Cultura at Iguatemi. More than just merely a place to shop, the store is inviting to stay and hang-out. Thus, we sought for visitors to not only find a book that they might be looking for, but rather that they remain there.

The entrance is a 7.7m with glass and aluminum frames that are entirely recessed, leaving the passage open. On this floor, with more intimate dimensions, we find the audiovisual products, such as Blue Rays and a café in the garden. A set of escalators bring to the great span of the bookstore, reaching over an intermediate floor, which houses toys and comic books - the so-called Geek space.

Then we arrive at the top floor where there is a large room, with tables and club-chairs, as well as 21m wide bleachers opening over the span. Inviting to leaf through the pages of a book or even to hold small concerts and lectures, this structure leads the visitors to the open mezzanine.

The books encircle the space, supported by eleven large tables arranged orthogonally in the large room and on white stands on the peripheral areas. These shelves have built-in LEDs and delimit the space, as a cube internally clad with books. A multi-use room, especially for conferences - that earned the name philosophical café -, a room reserved for a garden and books for children, completing the program.

The floor and the lining as well as the display tables are also of wood. The other planes use white laminates and distinguish the side walls from the rest. Glass hand-rails minimize the visual interference of these elements in the space, disappearing in the entire layout. Lighting is achieved by lines of light and completed by outstanding light in the center of the upstairs room.

The configuration of the bookstore floor plan, especially with the open circulation, sought fluidity and spatial continuity. The architectural journey begins in a cozy space then arrives at a monumental area, living, where most of the products and visitors can interact with one another, where one can take a book and read a chapter even before purchasing it, where one can simply rest and watch the movement. We thought like this, with inviting and pleasant spaces that end up promoting a type of socialization among people, these are the bookstores of the XXI century. The program is the very life of the store.

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Cultura Bookstore / Diana Radomysler + Luciana Antunes + Marcio Tanaka + Mariana Ruzante + Studio MK27 - Marcio Kogan

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Text description provided by the architects. A bookstore with a meeting place. This was the main premise of the architectural project of the bookstore Livraria Cultura at Iguatemi. More than just merely a place to shop, the store is inviting to stay and hang-out.

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Text description provided by the architects. Installation of a public reading room in an art gallery space is a generous addition to the urban life of Istanbul 's most crowded pedestrian street. The gallery space is designed like an auditorium, with seats on one side facing a 'stage' with the books arranged as a backdrop.

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Text description provided by the architects. Wutopia Lab recently designed an entirely white Zhongshu Bookstore in Xi'an, one of the most ancient cities in China which used to be the capital for thirteen dynasties, with 300 tons of steel and 30,000 meters of light strips.

We aborted our design of a direct entry into the bookstore, and created a glittering entrance in the commercial space on the fourth floor; this required to make free of the floor slab of fifth floor into the main area of the bookstore without destroying the main structure. We built a pillarless white curvy staircase, highlighted by a spiral white panel, surrounded by custom-made white acrylic walls. Readers coming from their everyday life, heading up the stairs step by step, and are encouraged by the spirit of knowledge and curiosity displayed through the books around them to enter the bookstore over the clouds.

The basic space of the bookstore consists of popular book recommendation areas and public reading areas. We decided to make a reading paradise over the "clouds", and it should have a light and streamlined free space, but in order to follow the restrictions of fire codes, we had to challenge the traditional types and materials of the bookshelf. For the first time, we used 5mm thick steel plates to customize curved bookshelves. After precise structural calculations, the steel frame that is hidden behind the foundation is used as the support of the structure.The over 3,000 meters long steel plated bookshelf floats in the air as a cantilevered structure. Digital concepts and technologies are used in order to realize such a soft and free space: each piece of steel plate has been optimized through programming, processed by CNC machine tools, and then assembled on site according to the numbering.

The free flowing bookshelf outlined by a curve has a total of ten levels, making full use of the corners of the public reading area. The rounded chamfers leave the space with no sharp corner, the back panel is made by a translucent acrylic; whereas the book recommendation area of the white bookstore is to suspend the triangular steel plate with a slender screw, so that the books displayed above seem to float in the air. This is a brand new experience to the Zhongshu bookstore branches.

There is a pantheon in central of the public reading area. In the center of the floor structural beams stands an exquisite displaying rack for Zhongshu's "Book of the Month" selection, and can only be held by one person at a time. The floor slab here was replaced with a glass floor in order to mimic an illusion of water surface. The space underneath it holds a room for reading meeting or a mini conference. This invisible academy and the visible pantheon together form the center of Zhongshu Bookstore - an oasis where the mind and soul can be rejuvenated and set free.

Zhongshu Bookstore's children's library is a crystal structure hidden in the forest. It was inspired by the trees and animal silhouettes of the nine-colored deer to protect the children's Wonderland. Kids will find their own hidden entrances, a hidden world of playful tricks and caves, and have the skylines of the architecture, blue skies and starry nights. This is a world for children.

Zhongshu Bookstore has ensured that the core shopping area is not only a quiet zone, but also a motion zone based on the streamline and operation of the cinema combined with the coffee and meal service with more dining tables and booths. The bookstore, thus, is creatively merged with the cinema.

The design and construction of Zhongshu Bookstore which lasted 600 days is not only the transcendence of Zhongshu Bookstore itself, but also represents the great urban revival that Xi'an is currently experiencing. The whitest bookstore is filled with various kinds of ancient souls of various temperatures with pure thoughts, memories, and hopes.

I hope my architectural practices reiterate our everyday life through immense imaginations and dramatic artistic expressions. I also hop that it transforms reality into a "magic reality" and creates an illusion that uncovers bits of truths in our life. Miracle, raising from ordinary life, is believed to be both a magnification and a fated outcome of ordinary life - the stories of which can be colored and told in an extraordinary fashion. Zhongshu Bookstore pays the tribute and performs a white Divine Comedy to the capital of thirteen dynasties - Xi'an.

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Text description provided by the architects. Wutopia Lab recently designed an entirely white Zhongshu Bookstore in Xi'an, one of the most ancient cities in China which used to be the capital for thirteen dynasties, with 300 tons of steel and 30,000 meters of light strips.

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Text description provided by the architects. In the City of Brampton, about 45 minutes west of Toronto, the Springdale Library and Komagata Maru Park provide the suburban community with a new public library and community park. RDHA's goal was to create an inclusive gathering place, a counterpoint to the otherwise at a suburban area, and a point of pride for the city. The project site was physically constrained, framed by a commercial plaza to the east, a main road to the south, and a natural ravine to the north and west. The architects positioned the library as close to the street as possible, in order to solidify the building's presence with the street, preserve the site's natural topography and irrigation patterns, and channel interior views towards the ravine. This siting also maximized room in the rear for a neighborhood park and a parking and drop-off sequence with a canopied entry forecourt.

RDHA designed a project that would be as much about a building as it is about establishing a landscape: from the organically shaped perimeter that joins building and courtyards; and the creation of an undulating topography between the fluidly shaped ceiling and mountainous green roof; and the sloping floor slab of the interior and the at landscape of the park. The park is comprised of a series of terraced contemplative gardens for older users as well as a splash pad and children's' play area organized around the word "Imagine." The five-metre-high letters are oriented in both horizontal and vertical planes and become an interactive feature for the children to discover.

The interior program is comprised of 20,000 square feet of library program space, combined with a 5,000 square foot community multi-purpose room. Each element of the library, detailed in scope, highlights RDHA's practice of applying conventional budgets and materials to design unconventional buildings. For example, Springdale's oculi, fashioned from perforated drywall fixed to off-the-shelf framing components, temper the noise levels and the way that light spreads within the library, to inspire a sense of awe and wonder - and an unusual sense of shelter and togetherness.

RDHA Design Principal Tyler Sharp collaborated with Brady Peters, a generative design specialist at the University of Toronto, to create a solar-responsive ceramic frit pattern on the building's windows. Its striated patterns range from white to dark gray expanding and contracting based on solar orientations, while also visually merging with a series of stainless steel rods that add an additional layer of solar resistance while supporting the glazed units and forming the courtyard enclosures. These elements are conceived as a functional abstraction of two combined metaphors: the turning pages of a library book and the trunks of trees in a forest.

Expressing inclusivity, innovation, dedication to learning, collaboration, curiosity, courage, and accountability the new building reflects the vision of the institution. Seamlessly integrating universal design principals, and targeting a LEED Gold rating, the building demonstrates the highest levels of achievement in both dignity and sustainable design. The new Springdale branch provides Brampton Library with an emboldened presence and a valuable resource to the Springdale community.

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Springdale Library & Komagata Maru Park / RDH Architects

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Text description provided by the architects. In the City of Brampton, about 45 minutes west of Toronto, the Springdale Library and Komagata Maru Park provide the suburban community with a new public library and community park. RDHA's goal was to create an inclusive gathering place, a counterpoint to the otherwise at a suburban area, and a point of pride for the city.

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Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado do México, México

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The project integrates the public library with a botanical garden. A 250 meter steel, concrete and glass structure surrounded by greenery and water.

The design is based in four fundamental considerations :

Mexico City is one of the largest, most polluted and agresive urban environments in the planet. We believe that the planning of public funded buildings should always encourage the expansion of car-free open spaces and greenery

The specific area where the project was built was a barren urban landscape

The buildings and gardens generate a new pole of urban ecological regeneration that expands over a densely populated area

The library is itself an attempt at reorganizing available human knowledge

The Botanical Garden houses a comprehensive array of Mexicos endemic flora. Culture and nature, often on opposing sides, form a unity in which the visitor can reconcile their co-existence. The reading areas offer the user an opportunity for experimenting direct contact with nature. All areas profit from natural lighting and ventilation.

The library is a great ship that navigates through time enveloped in a garden that´s always itself and always new.

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The project integrates the public library with a botanical garden. A 250 meter steel, concrete and glass structure surrounded by greenery and water. The design is based in four fundamental considerations : Mexico City is one of the largest, most polluted and agresive urban environments in the planet.

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The library is located in Zadní Třebáň/CZ/. We built it on our own. The structure is made of wood and plywood. The supporting frame consists of the library itself, the facade is covered with fiberglass.

On the first floor is situated reading room with fireplace, sleeping on the the second floor as well as looking around the landscape. The Library has an opening roof, so the top of the house can be used as an observatory.

Completion of the library we had planned for the end of last year, but in November 2011 due to technical problems the library burned down. It took six months to have it repaired, but today, the library is back for its happy owner.

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The library is located in Zadní Třebáň/CZ/. We built it on our own. The structure is made of wood and plywood. The supporting frame consists of the library itself, the facade is covered with fiberglass. On the first floor is situated reading room with fireplace, sleeping on the the second floor as well as looking around the landscape.

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Text description provided by the architects. Tainan Yuwen Library is located in the East District, Tainan City. The site is bounded by streets ranging from 12m to 20m widthwise and also surrounded by public facilities: elementary school to the north, community center to the east, and the park to the south. The Yu-sin Boulevard to the west is the main south-north corridor in the area. The library is a 4-story concrete construction on a 2965 m2 site with 3144 m2 total floor area. The projected collection capacity is 110,000 books. The construction budget is around NY$122,000,000.

Library is a place of reading. However, in this information age, digital media and visual-audio resources have formed significant parts of any library collections. Therefore, in contemporary library, the visual acts of reading, browsing, and gazing create a web of inter-reference, resulting a fluid relationship of subjects and objects. In order to capture such contemporary phenomenon, the architectural interpretation of gaze and looking becomes guiding concepts of this project.

Gaze and looking: Concrete volume as visual vehicle
The site is adjacent to several urban programs with high public value; therefore, a concrete lower volume is proposed to negotiate those urban events on the one hand, and organize internal functions on the other. Large fenestrations articulated with concrete panels and canopies are located at dramatic moments: street corner facing elementary school (children's library), frontal view toward community center (young-adult area), gaze window viewable from the park (reading room), and finally the horizontal glazing along the boulevard (lobby and new arrival). These symbolic openings convey the public character of the library, allowing citizens' gaze penetrates the library boundaries from all angles. The coexistence of the expansive concrete walls and openings suggests enough aura that lures citizens to explore the knowledge inside.

Simultaneously Iconographic and transparent: Wood volume as symbol of books
The significant position of Library in the historical and social-cultural context always calls for symbolic formal language. A wood volume is half-lodged on top of the lower concrete volume: this volume contains collective human knowledge and clad in vertical wood louvers. It is the metaphor and representation of books. Characterized by four carved in curves, the form of the wood volume is distinct and iconographic. Internally, the combination of louvers and expansive glazing generates a transparent and universal space full of diffused sunlight. Here, the desire of gaze and looking is minimized; what is left is the very original act of reading.

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Text description provided by the architects. Tainan Yuwen Library is located in the East District, Tainan City. The site is bounded by streets ranging from 12m to 20m widthwise and also surrounded by public facilities: elementary school to the north, community center to the east, and the park to the south.

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Text description provided by the architects. Numerous studies have shown that elementary and middle school students who have access to and regularly use libraries achieve higher test scores than those students who don't. With this in mind, officials at Orchard School-an elementary and middle school campus in northeastern San Jose-sought to improve their outdated and overcrowded campus library, with the goals of housing their growing book collection, improving student access to technology, and creating a central focus for the school. The completed project resulted in an eye-catching library that enlivens the campus, creating a destination that attracts both students and teachers.

Dating back to the 1850s, Orchard School is one of the oldest operating schools in Northern California. Its library, located at the heart of the campus, connects the elementary and middle school areas. Because of that ideal central location, a renovation and expansion of the 3,000-SF space made more sense than new construction elsewhere. Using the centralized location to advantage, the design team planned for opposing elementary and middle school entries to the library, thus defining a spatial organization that acknowledges the distinct identity of each group.

With its location tucked between stucco-clad, flat roofed 1990s-era buildings, designers and school officials knew they needed to distinguish the library from its surroundings. The expanded and renovated library responds to this challenge through the use of a metallic composite-panel façade with zinc plate accents and abundant glass, giving the library a striking aesthetic reflective of its position in the heart of Silicon Valley. The angular, sloping windows emphasize the building entries and focus interior vistas obliquely toward view corridors. They taper the building's scale in response to its smaller users, and effectively block the unattractive view of an adjacent building's blank rear wall and mechanical equipment, yet maintain a continuous sense of connection with the landscaped plaza outside.

Inside, the dramatic full-height glass brings natural light deep into the expanded 6,000-SF space, a drastic departure from the obstructed views of its predecessor. A natural wood screen, locally crafted from FSC-certified wood, helps to define space and provide boundaries without compromising supervision. With the circulation desk installed in the center of the space, librarians are now able to survey students while greeting anyone coming and going. Dark existing instructional spaces for elementary and middle school classes were relocated to corners filled with natural north light; the renovated existing space, with no access to windows, now houses stacks for the 18,000-volume collection, along with a new technology lab for up to 36 students.

The library has been hugely successful in creating a focal point for this rambling campus, providing new instructional opportunities, and attracting student, staff, and community users; as a bonus, its natural light and spatial quality have made it the most popular spot on campus for after-school faculty meetings and training sessions.

The Orchard library is currently registered with the United States Green Building Council for LEED Gold certification. It achieves this level of sustainable design through the use of a high-performance exterior building envelope, interior day lighting, natural ventilation, photovoltaic panels, upgraded mechanical systems, green-certified interior furnishings and finishes, water-saving plumbing fixtures, and careful siting and orientation to reduce solar heat gain.

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Text description provided by the architects. Numerous studies have shown that elementary and middle school students who have access to and regularly use libraries achieve higher test scores than those students who don't.

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Text description provided by the architects. The new Driving Park Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library addresses what it means to be a library in the Information Age, while providing an underserved neighborhood with a catalyst for community and positive change.

Libraries are in transition: once a point of knowledge dissemination and quiet introspection, they are becoming places to meet, socialize, study, hang out and plug in. The new Driving Park Branch turns the library inside-out, placing traditional modes of library patronage - like focused reading - at the center of the building, while social, interactive functions are located along the perimeter, where they benefit from natural light and engagement with the street.

Because Driving Park was historically known for racing, the project incorporates a "racetrack" concept to organize the different functions, shape the building envelope, and display books and other media. With a transparent street frontage, public meeting rooms, services for neighborhood youth and technology, the Driving Park Branch is not merely a passive provider of information, but also an active participant in connecting community.

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Text description provided by the architects. The new Driving Park Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library addresses what it means to be a library in the Information Age, while providing an underserved neighborhood with a catalyst for community and positive change.

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Text description provided by the architects. The new library in Grimstand has a central, waterfront location. It lies between the old town and the new town center. The intention is for the library to not only be a place to read and borrow books, but for the building to become a social meeting point with the opportunity to host a variety of cultural events. The building is accessible for all.

The context acts as an important driver for the architecture. The building acts as a covered walkway connecting the old town in the north and new town center in the south. This passageway is filled with a public and cultural programme for all the towns inhabitants and visitors to enjoy.

An existing building on the site, together with the budget, formed a limited framework for the project. However, this limitation was looked upon as a positive; the old structure is partially kept and acts as foundations for the new light timber structure. The compact volume of the building has a rational timber structure. The timber frames are placed with a spacing of 3m on top of the existing concrete building.

The building is organized over three floors. The main library functions on the first floor with a secluded children's area on the second. The administration is found on the ground floor. Additionally the building houses a café, auditorium and exhibition spaces. These are in close proximity to toilet facilities making it possible to close off this zone for evening events.

By varying the vertical north-facing openings between the prefabricated east and west facing panels makes a dynamic façade. This portrays the interior movement, while the building negotiates between new and old.

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Text description provided by the architects. The new library in Grimstand has a central, waterfront location. It lies between the old town and the new town center. The intention is for the library to not only be a place to read and borrow books, but for the building to become a social meeting point with the opportunity to host a variety of cultural events.

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Text description provided by the architects. The Kenmore Library serves a suburban community largely bypassed by recent redevelopment. Located in an emerging downtown core that is a mix of 1960s retail buildings, surface parking, and a busy highway, the library responds to needs for community space and integration of public and commercial uses.

To accommodate changes in the continuing evolution of library services, the library design provides a flexible, interconnected, and adaptable floor plan, with minimal fixed obstructions limiting internal organization. As a gesture of civic inclusiveness, the reading room is transparent and open, with continuous glazing on the public facades and a delicate tension-rod roof truss system which clear-spans the 75' x 90' space.

Optimum solar orientation and central skylights fill the reading room with balanced and diffused natural light. Relatively solid enclosures of brick and wood at either end of the reading room contain library support functions and private study areas. A raised floor system provides HVAC, power, and data distribution, with public artwork integrated into the floor cavity. Extensive daylighting, LED fixtures, reclaimed wood, and regionally-sourced materials and furniture contribute to sustainability goals.

In response to local aspirations for a pedestrian-friendly downtown, the library connects to the street with an entry plaza and submerges parking beneath the building. Parallel to the street, the library extends to the property line, anticipating future party-walls. A garden of native plants and sculpted landforms buffers the reading room from the highway, providing rainwater infiltration that reduces surface run-off into nearby Lake Washington.

Text provided by Weinstein A|U

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Text description provided by the architects. The Kenmore Library serves a suburban community largely bypassed by recent redevelopment. Located in an emerging downtown core that is a mix of 1960s retail buildings, surface parking, and a busy highway, the library responds to needs for community space and integration of public and commercial uses.

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Text description provided by the architects. Folkwang University of the Arts is North Rhine Westphalia's college of art and music. Its main campus is housed in the former Benedictine abbey of St. Ludgerus in Essen-Werden, situated in the southern Ruhr Valley. The small 8th century site was extended into a princely baroque residence in the 18th century, arranged around a magnificent courtyard (Cour d'honneur). The construction of the new library on the south side of the courtyard by the architect Max Dudler replaces a 19th century military hospital building demolished in 1969. In 2006 Max Dudler won the design competition organised by the Duisburg branch of the Building and Real Estate Management Authority, North Rhine Westphalia. The project was generously supported by the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation.

In 1811, while under French occupation, a prison was set up in Werden Abbey. The Prussians extended this and erected a hospital building on the south side of the courtyard. Upon the demolition of the hospital building, the remaining ensemble of buildings looked unbalanced. Without reproducing the original shape of the prison, the new building encloses this side of the courtyard with its voluminous crystalline structure. The new building's eastern side adjoins the so-called administrative wing of the old abbey. The volume of the new building corresponds approximately to that of the Prussian wing across the courtyard.

Folkwang Library was conceived as a monolithic body built atop the level base of an old rough stone wall. Max Dudler's concept for the building is based on the idea of the 'museum showcase': An exterior shell protecting the valuable contents within. The functional areas are grouped around the reading room, which lies at the centre of the building. The book shelves are arranged in strict order around this room, thereby lending scale and structure to the building as a whole. There are two entrances to the library: The main entrance is from the courtyard via a flight of external steps, designed to approximate the style of the entrances to the other buildings leading off from the courtyard. The library's other entrance on the Klemensborn serves as an emergency exit. Lending desks, media cubicles, an administration area and cloakroom are situated on the ground floor; the reading room on the first floor. The compact archives are housed in the library's basement.

The design of the building's facade was developed in collaboration with the photographer Stefan Müller. Every pane of glass in the facade depicts a large format close-up of a quarry. These photographs reproduce the unhewn stone in its original size. The photographic works were applied directly onto the glazing using a special technique. In keeping with the elemental meaning of the number twelve in music, twelve motives were pieced together into an overall composition. As with the scagliola technique of the Renaissance used to create stucco marbling, this special photographic technique creates the illusion of the facade being fashioned from the stone material itself. At the same time, a tension is created between the imagery of the textured stone and the flat surface of the glass, reminiscent of the historical sgraffito technique, whereby a graphic embossing is etched into a smooth plaster surface. The new building's smooth glass surfaces create the perfect impression of a polished monolith. But this is called into question by the translucency of the building's exterior, thereby playfully breaking the boundaries both from inside and out. Silhouettes of people can be seen beyond the facade. The interior is bathed in a soft, filtered light. In the evening, the building illuminates the courtyard outside.

The building comprises a reinforced concrete skeleton with concrete cores to provide stiffening. The glass facade is attached to the building's projecting structural slabs using the mullion-transom system. The concrete pillars are shaped and positioned according to the dimensions of the book shelves. The pillars are clad in cherry wood, which is also used for the shelving in the reading room. Not all the pillars are load-bearing. Some are used as part of an 'inert' air-conditioning system. With the ventilation pipes being channelled directly through the reinforced concrete ceilings, this building material's potential as a heat sink is thereby put to good use. Through coupling this with a heat exchanger, an innovative contribution to energy efficiency is achieved.

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Text description provided by the architects. Folkwang University of the Arts is North Rhine Westphalia's college of art and music. Its main campus is housed in the former Benedictine abbey of St. Ludgerus in Essen-Werden, situated in the southern Ruhr Valley.

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Text description provided by the architects. After four years of design and development, MGS Architects has delivered the New Generation Bendigo Library, offering state of the art library and community services including spaces to meet and for quiet reflection, a café, a volunteer resource centre, a children's library and "cubby house", gallery spaces, upgraded research facilities and extended internet access for the community.

The library, now Victoria's second largest after the State Library, has been fitted with the latest radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for seamless borrowing services and is home to the Goldfields Library Corporation.

The redevelopment comprises 4,000 square metres of functional areas over two levels, designed to offer a flexible and inclusive library that allows people to meet, exchange ideas and interact with each other through both programmes and chance.

The project incorporates the pre-existing 1984 building with frontage to public gardens in the historic centre of Bendigo in a contemporary architectural and interior design responses maximising the opportunities to engage with the public realm. The building's design demonstrates the City of Bendigo 's commitment to enacting council's environmental sustainability policies by incorporating a Building Management System, which tracks energy use and transmits this information in real time to the occupants, allowing visitors the opportunity to understand and interact with how much energy is used.

Directors Eli Giannini and Joshua Wheeler led the project team at MGS Architects. "Our projects are recognised for creating places for people," Mr Wheeler says.

"We're extremely proud of this project. We've provided high quality architecture and interior design for the Bendigo Library, and we look forward to its continued success in the community."

"The thing I am most proud of is the community response" said Project Director from the City of Bendigo, Marg Allan.

"In the first ten days alone, 20,000 people have already visited the library." She said.

"That is just amazing."

More recent figures have shown 55,000 people visited the library in the first month of operation with a 230% increase in Library Membership.

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Text description provided by the architects. After four years of design and development, MGS Architects has delivered the New Generation Bendigo Library, offering state of the art library and community services including spaces to meet and for quiet reflection, a café, a volunteer resource centre, a children's library and "cubby house", gallery spaces, upgraded research facilities and extended internet access for the community.

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Text description provided by the architects. As the urban base for Toronto 's diverse Rexdale neighbourhood, Albion is one of the city's busiest public libraries. A responsive design approach by Perkins+Will delivers a tailored solution for a unique community in need of a reimagined social epicenter.

Building on information gathered during a series of consultation and a community-driven narrative, Perkins+Will dramatically shifted their original proposal to close down and renovate the existing building.

Recognizing the library was community critical, Perkins+Will and the client Toronto Public Library made a strategic decision to build a new facility on the underutilized parking lot allowing branch operations to continue.

The old site will be transformed into a lush public plaza with a landscaped parking lot and space for a market square.

The result is a library that features a theatre for community empowerment inside and out.

Reminiscent of a walled garden, the dynamic façade gives the illusion of a front porch trellis - its privacy veil injecting colour into the street. Punctuated by courtyard gardens and interior pavilions, Albion Library's footprint is a pure square. The perimeter is defined by a screen of polychrome terracotta tiles in bright, unexpected colours. Contrasting the monotone asphalt that surrounds the site, the form offers a respite from the busy arterial context of Albion Road.

Buffering between the residential neighbourhood and busy four-lane road, the façade playfully juxtaposes its surroundings, animating the distinctly concrete streetscape.

Stepping inside, transparency fosters community. Strategically placed glass walls separate meeting rooms, while low visual barriers create defined areas for activity and diverse programming. Every space is visibly accessible, yet connected to the library's circulation hub.

Mirroring the community's needs, Perkins+Will's design moves beyond the bookshelf, prioritizing spaces for collaboration and creation. The Urban Living Room resembles an extension of the home, providing an adaptable space for cultural events, concerts and readings, from spoken word to hip-hop battles. The library's Innovation Studio Lab contributes to cultural production and houses a myriad of STEM programming, empowering youth to enhance their technical skills in coding, circuit building and 3D Printing.

Notched light is featured throughout - carefully placed windows and lighting fixtures illuminate each area. The library footprint is divided into a series of open zones. Careful composition of the spaces creates a rich and varied plan that accommodates open, cellular, and private spaces ensuring ease of access and diversity of experience.

Waving nature and natural light deep into the library's interiors, the courtyards also provide secure zones for exterior programming. Bright colours and geometric shapes create a sense of informality and playfulness in the curated greenspace for a multigenerational audience.

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Text description provided by the architects. As the urban base for Toronto 's diverse Rexdale neighbourhood, Albion is one of the city's busiest public libraries. A responsive design approach by Perkins+Will delivers a tailored solution for a unique community in need of a reimagined social epicenter.

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Text description provided by the architects. The program is resolved in a unique volume. The construction of the shelves along the perimeter gives more thickness to the walls as it liberates interior space, setting the reading tables in the center. The administration and storage spaces are separated by a small wall that doesn't reach the ceiling.

The structure consists of a mixed system combining load bearing walls and BTC (compressed-soil brick) pillars, produced near the site. These bricks are also used for the definition of the ceiling of the room, supported by stressed ø10mm rebars embedded in the reinforced concrete beams. The superior pitched roof frees the exterior walls from direct solar radiation and quickly evacuates rainwater. It is composed of galvanized corrugated plates for the straight portions and a translucent plastic corrugated plate for the central curved portion.

The KATIOU Foundation had stored a few polycarbonate panels in the village, coming from the deconstruction of a veranda in Madrid. In order to benefit from the entire stock, the window+skylight module was designed according to the dimension of the panels and the BTC brick.

In buildings with budgets as tights as in this one, the frames are usually metallic and simple, without any kind of glass, regulating interior lighting and ventilation with adjustable slats. Having many windows along the façade doesn't automatically guarantee a good level of light inside. Indeed, the site's demanding and changing climatic conditions, the amount of dust in the air, its warmth, storms with 45° rain, or the dropping temperatures in December (here, 25°C already gives you a sensation of coolness), show that the slats protecting the windows are partially or totally shut during great part of the year, implying the use of artificial lighting in the reading rooms even during the day.

Besides, in Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in the world, the interruptions of electric supply are a daily issue.

Therefore, natural illumination -and ventilation- are enhanced through openings that reuse the polycarbonate panels, translucent and insulating. The windows are arranged along the South and North facades and on the ceiling, with the construction of large operable skylights of the same width. The light passes through the translucent plastic plates of the superior roof first and is then filtered by the polycarbonate panels, giving the skylights an aspect of great ceilings of diffuse light, ideal for reading.

At sunset, when the daylight dims and the artificial light is turned on, young students sit outside the library, at the foot of the windows, using the building's light to do their homework from school.

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Text description provided by the architects. The program is resolved in a unique volume. The construction of the shelves along the perimeter gives more thickness to the walls as it liberates interior space, setting the reading tables in the center. The administration and storage spaces are separated by a small wall that doesn't reach the ceiling.

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"As the sky dims, cloud is dazzling in purple blue. Within a glimpse, it vanished. Ocean is in charcoal gray. The wave paddles to the sand with a rhythm that you can almost hear. It's a resonate sound that travels deep and far. The sea breeze leaves its footprint onto the sand land, creating ripples of air waves. An old boat sits half-sunken under the sand, as if it has harbored here for years. There are few tarred down small houses used to be fishermen's shelter. The leftover shingles and broken walls enclose space in dark. Through the dilapated openings on the wall, look out, is the sea in stillness, like paintings hanging upon the wall".

At that moment, we envision the future library should also be quietly sitting on the seashore. From outside, it looks like a weathered rock that is pure and solid; but inside, what it contains is the rich feelings and experiences. When walking into the space, one starts to feel the light, breezes, and sound of the ocean. What comes after the perception is the unique spiritual linkage between each individual and the sea. In here, everyone can slow down the usual pace, and unfold the feeling of distant and loneliness different from the city life.

The design began with section. The library houses a reading area, a meditation space, activity room, a drinking bar and a resting area. According to each space, we establish distinctive relationship between space and the ocean; define how light and wind enters into each room.

A- Reading Area

Ocean, an ever-changing character continues to alter from season to season, morning to night. It is like a drama play of nature. As if giving the stage to this character of ocean, we pile up seating platforms raised toward the back, so that everyone has an unblocking view to the stage. Toward the sea, the building is enclosed by a series of operable glass walls at ground level. When the weather is nice, the wallsare open to the sea directly connecting inside and outside. On top of these pivot walls is a horizontal view window that goes across the library; it is the main framing of sea view.

To avoid interruption from any structural component, all the roof loads are carried by the steel trusses running above the view window. On both sides of steel trusses, we infill hand-crafted glass block masonries into wall. The wall softens the hardness of steel trusses. Furthermore, the translucency of such material is sensitive to light. It transforms both natural and artificial light to inside and outside throughout different time of the day, smoothly changing the ambience of the building.

The half-arched roof opens toward the sea and implies the main subject of the space. Meanwhile, the curvature allows wide span running both north-south and east-west directions. Several 30cm diameter circular openings are inserted and array on the roofing structure. They can be open when the weather is allowed, and help to ventilate indoor air. During three seasons of the year - spring, summer and fall, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm every day, sunlight would stream through those narrow air passage ways and project light spots inside and meandering through space with time shift.

B- Meditation Space

The meditation space is sitting aside from reading area. In contrast to the reading area that is bright, evenly distributed light, open and public, meditation space is rather dimmed, sharp of light and shadows, enclosed and private. There are two slim openings, 30cm wide, on east and west side of the room. One is horizontal and one in vertical; one captures the light of sunrise and the other grasps the sunset illumination. In this room, a drastic roof curved pushes the ceiling down low. Above this curve, it creates a lowterrace to the roof top. At this area, people hear the sound of ocean, though the vision is out of reach.

C- Activity Room

Activity room is a fairly isolated space. Due to potential event and sound, it is being separated from reading area with an outdoor platform in between. The light well on the roof facing east and the clear story at west collect lights throughout the day from different directions. Warm and cold light overlap and tintthe space simultaneously.

If we slice through the building along the north-southlong axis, we can see how each space elaboratesitselfwith ocean distinctively. And the movement and memory of human body togetherchoreograph series of experience.

During the construction phase, we worked with a local construction team and our biggest challenge was wood form poured-in-place concrete. The use of wood form was inspired by the sand marks of foot prints, wind and wheels on site. It implies a mark of memory in time that can be read as a poem. Wood grains are the marks of realization process that we want to leave on the library. Also, it softens the hardness of concrete with warmth.

Challenges came one after another. How do we keep those wood grains visible and even touchable? How do we create the concrete color we want? How do we avoid flaws such as leaking, cracking, and air bubbles? Those are crucial challenges we faced while working with construction team. We tested mock-ups of concrete wall three times to ensure the final quality. Each time, we made progress but also found new problems to be resolved. We continuously confront with much unknown and exploration throughout the entire procedure.

Every construction is an indescribable given fate, with a premise of dedication and diligence from each party involved.

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"As the sky dims, cloud is dazzling in purple blue. Within a glimpse, it vanished. Ocean is in charcoal gray. The wave paddles to the sand with a rhythm that you can almost hear. It's a resonate sound that travels deep and far.

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Text description provided by the architects. The program's density, the area of the plot of land and the allowed construction requires to resolve the project within a compact shape building that occupies the entire surface of the plot of land.

The proposal takes this location into account as a starting point, coming up with a compact volume, which, however, has been perforated by a series of patios where vegetation climbs high achieving a good quality space and well lit building.

From its internal organization point of view, the volume is divided in two distinct blocks, the dynamic and static, these blocks then split longitudinally giving more importance to the building and organizing the functional program, the circulation as well as other factors such as light, sound, thermal conditions and privacy requirements.

The dynamic fringe is located in the southern part of the building, running East to West with a width of 7.5 m. This range contains all the dynamic activities and services, therefore, the corridors, attention to the public, internal offices, warehouses and store shelves of books, leaving the second strip to spaces primarily for reading.

This whole area has patios that run vertically and offer visitors a more global vision of the complex through double and triple height spaces where series of potted trees are located.

The passive strip is located on the north side and around the building from east to west with a width of 12 m. It is dedicated to the reading room and there are three reasons which justify its location: the first is the level of noise, these rooms open to a park instead of opening on the Honduras street traffic, secondly, the light, the indirect lighting provides a north facade which is the most suitable for the reading activities, and thirdly, the views and proximity of next door buildings that in the case of the north facade overlooks a park and the nearest building has only one floor plus three giving the rooms a breath, the south side would not have this due to the proximity of the close by buildings which are 13 story towers.

The north, east and west facades, are a combination of wood and transparent modules, however they are designed with a modular system that is very flexible allowing the façades to be modified depending on the uses that occur within, we could say that the function is defined with the façade's configuration, which together with the flexibility of the structure gives the building a capacity to adapt to changes that may be occur.

The south facade is the filter we have already discussed above, and is an accurate reflection of the activity that occurs and the uses, a mesh of variable density protects it, modifying its density according to not only climatic but also conservation and lighting needs of each area.

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Text description provided by the architects. The program's density, the area of the plot of land and the allowed construction requires to resolve the project within a compact shape building that occupies the entire surface of the plot of land.

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Text description provided by the architects. Open the castle town.

Taketa City in Oita Prefecture has a population of about 20,000, on the center of Kyushu and bordering on Kumamoto Prefecture. The center of the city is a castle town surrounded by mountains on all sides, and it still retains the unique atmosphere by the town divisions and the width of streets.

However, there are few people walking around in the city, and the city is trying to overcome this situation by promoting* "Castle Town Revitalization project", and the spearhead of the project was the rebuilding of the library. The plan uses a gabled roof and white walls by considering affinity to the landscape of the castle town, and performs a "division of the roof" and a "Separation of the roof and the wall". We tried to incorporate the castle town's environment of light, wind, and landscape into the architecture through the gaps that were created.

The interior of the building is a connected space with a large volume, and the book stacks characterizes each space. The book stacks are gently curving around the library like water and wind currents. The arrangement was inspired by the idea of incorporating the flow of wind in the architecture, which flows in a certain direction throughout the year.

The book stacks encourage visitors to move around, and the various heights of the stacks create a space that is appropriate to the location. We tried to create characteristic space, for example, the south open stacks like a bright plain, the north open stacks like a quiet forest, and the second floor open stacks like an intimate cave. There is no further expansion of the castle town, and landscape elements such as town divisions, street widths, roofs and walls are not going to change.

This common sound of unchanging is the essence of this town. On top of that, it makes the site opened across the town divisions and makes the roof and walls opened to draw in the environment of the castle town, and provide the necessary equipment to encourage people's movement. It is the opening of the castle town from the "unchanging order" that it possesses. We have a feeling that the new town is going to start.

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Taketa City Library / Takao Shiotsuka Atelier

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Text description provided by the architects. Open the castle town. Taketa City in Oita Prefecture has a population of about 20,000, on the center of Kyushu and bordering on Kumamoto Prefecture. The center of the city is a castle town surrounded by mountains on all sides, and it still retains the unique atmosphere by the town divisions and the width of streets.

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Kikuchi City Central Library Municipal public library is Platinum Design Award winner in 2017 - 2018 Interior Space and Exhibition Design Award Category.

A library designed by a huge bookshelf with a curved line like the flow of a river, named "BOOK RIVER". The bookshelf changes various heights, becomes a seat, becomes a counter, or encloses a space like a wall. Big holes in the bookshelf, it becomes a tunnel, a window, a space like a capsule. This space has made various relationships between books and people, and created rich communication.

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kazunobu nakamura kikuchi city central library municipal public library

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kazunobu nakamura kikuchi city central library

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kazunobu nakamura municipal public library

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kikuchi city central library municipal public librarye

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KAZUNOBU NAKAMURA Kikuchi City Central Library Municipal public library

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Kikuchi City Central Library Municipal public library is Platinum Design Award winner in 2017 - 2018 Interior Space and Exhibition Design Award Category. A library designed by a huge bookshelf with a curved line like the flow of a river, named "BOOK RIVER".

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Text description provided by the architects. The LocHal redefines the library typology. It has already been coined 'the next big thing in public libraries' by experts. While keeping traditional 'book consumer' facilities, the new library also provides ample opportunity for the creation of new knowledge. The growing importance of 'Curatorship' is facilitated by the architecture. The interaction with experts and other visitors offers a deeper, richer way to acquire knowledge and information. That's why the building acts as a covered public space, housing amenities shared by the library, arts organisations and co-working facilities. In addition to areas for lectures and public events, the building has a number of 'labs' where visitors can learn new skills.

The architecture is a reinterpretation of the original building, dating from 1932. The main structure determines the rhythm and language of the new architecture. Perhaps the most conspicuous feature of the building is its sheer size. With a footprint of 90 x 60 metres and a height of 15 metres, it is both imposing and inviting. The entrance hall takes on the form of a covered city square with large reading tables (doubling as podia), an exhibition area and a coffee kiosk. Space folds up into broad steps which can be used by individuals or as event seating for over one thousand spectators.

The spaciousness is strengthened by diagonal sightlines across the interior, enabled by smart engineering; the library capitalizes the existing structure, thereby greatly minimizing the amount of new structural elements. An ingenious system of climate zones preserves the openness of the building; heating visitors in key contact zones and not entire spaces. It was this mentality that made it possible to preserve the LocHal building as one large usable volume, rather than inserting closed volumes or replacing it altogether.

From the entrance hall, the landscape of stairs leads visitors up towards the peripheral galleries which allows one to browse books or retreat into one of the quieter reading areas. Higher up, the filtered rooflight and the refined details of the structure creates a more ephemeral atmosphere. A large balcony offers panoramic views over the city.

Six grand textile screens enable flexible separation of areas and improve acoustics. These screens, with a surface area of 4125 m ², can be repositioned in numerous configurations. They can, for example, be moved to separate the co-working area from the higher library floors, or across one of the staircases to create a small, semi-private auditorium; complete with suitable acoustics and lighting. Together with the black steel columns and concrete floors, they enrich the existing spatial system. The materials reveal their characteristic textures when viewed at close hand. During the day, abundant daylight creates intricate shadow patterns. After dark, the building is turned 'inside out', with the interior becoming an inviting beacon in the city.

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LocHal Library / CIVIC architects + Braaksma & Roos architectenbureau + Inside Outside + Mecanoo

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Text description provided by the architects. The LocHal redefines the library typology. It has already been coined 'the next big thing in public libraries' by experts. While keeping traditional 'book consumer' facilities, the new library also provides ample opportunity for the creation of new knowledge. The growing importance of 'Curatorship' is facilitated by the architecture.

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Text description provided by the architects. Cannon Design, an internationally ranked architectural, engineering and planning firm, is pleased to announce it has completed work on the transformative restoration, renovation and adaptive reuse of the St. Louis Public Library, Central Library. The crown jewel of the St. Louis Public Library system, Central Library was originally funded by Andrew Carnegie and designed by renowned architect Cass Gilbert in 1912.

The Library's revitalization increases public space by more than 38,000 SF, modernizes the library for the 21st century, contributes to the urban renewal of St. Louis and enhances the building's stature as a cultural treasure. More than 11,000 people visited the library in its opening week. The library continues to see increased visitation and acceptance, winning the Architizer A+ award for best library, a competition with more than 150,000 public votes worldwide.

The original three-story building was designed in Beaux Arts style featuring a ceremonial granite stair, vaulted reception foyer and centrally located Great Hall. The hall is surrounded by five wings, four dedicated to public reading rooms and the fifth, the North Wing, to a multistory depositry of books closed to the public. A structurally independent steel skeleton, doubling as a book shelves and floor support, was inserted by Gilbert between the walls of the North Wing. This "building within the building," required replacement to address fire and seismic hazard. The North Wing transformation truly rejuvenates the library and brings it into the 21st century with the removal of old book stacks and the insertion of a new "building within the building." Now, a multi story public atrium provides and accessible and welcoming entry. Glass enclosed upper levels house the collection with compact density bookshelves. These books are now visible to the public as visual elements of the space. The North wall windows, now clear glass, bounce natural light deep into the interior and provide striking views.

The Great Hall and four public wings are restored and revitalized to their turn-of-the-century splendor and equipped with new mechanical, electrical and fire protection systems along with modern data and electric raceways. A new public entry on Locust Street defers to Gilbert's original façade as a canopy that arises from a pool of water without touching the building. The new entrance opens up the building to a surrounding urban neighborhood north of the library. "Looking at the library project, I'm most proud of how we've created a solution where the new structure and existing building live in harmony," said George Nikolajevich, FAIA, Design Principal. "The design feels natural... a really great place to visit and spend time. I take pride in knowing the design feels effortless and hope it proves timeless."

Cannon Design is an Ideas Based Practice, ranked among the leading international firms in planning and design for healthcare, education, corporate commercial, and government clients. At present, the firm employs a staff of over 1,000, delivering services in 15 offices throughout North America as well as abroad in Shanghai, China, and Mumbai, India.

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St. Louis Public Library / Cannon Design

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Text description provided by the architects. Cannon Design, an internationally ranked architectural, engineering and planning firm, is pleased to announce it has completed work on the transformative restoration, renovation and adaptive reuse of the St. Louis Public Library, Central Library. The crown jewel of the St.

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Biblioteca Central de Macau, Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, Macau

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Dutch design practice Mecanoo has shared initials details of the new Macau Central Library as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Designed for the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macau SAR Government, the project will be located by the Tap Seac square on the site of the former Hotel Estoril, the first casino resort in Macau. Activating the square and public realm, the library will encourage visitors to uncover and utilize this new public amenity.

The Macau Central Library facade takes inspiration from the former modernist design of Hotel Estoril by filtering light and creating a controlled indoor climate. As the team explains, the new Central Library will provide a "forward-thinking platform for influencing its surroundings." A continuous 'L' shape will formally define the library and its volume, while the continuous and uniform facade aims to help redefine the square.
News via Mecanoo

Opening like a book to the main entrance, the building's envelope is made to act as an extension of the bookshelves from "stack to protective shell." The Central Library aims to lead visitors through a series of interconnected spaces beginning at Tap Seac Square and up to the reading rooms on the top floor.

Inside, the futurist mural designed by the Italian sculptor Oseo Acconci depicting Fortuna, the Roman goddess of chance, will be preserved in the new lobby. In turn, the project will open up to views of the square and surrounding landscape.

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Mecanoo to Design New Macau Central Library in UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Dutch design practice Mecanoo has shared initials details of the new Macau Central Library as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Designed for the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macau SAR Government, the project will be located by the Tap Seac square on the site of the former Hotel Estoril, the first casino resort in Macau.

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Design Principal: Francine Houben (Mecanoo), Malone Chang, Yu-lin Chen (MAYU Architects)

Design Team: Rodrigo Louro, Friso van der Steen, Rodrigo Bandini, Johan Hanegraaf, Rachel Lin, Yuli Huang, Yuanyuan Chen, Natalia Leszcynska, George Orfanopoulos, Antonio Sanna, Wanjen Lin, Yunying Chiu, Tsailing Shih, Eliano Felicio, Nienke Andersson (Mecanoo), (SD)Ting-yi Lo, Yun-shan Huang, Che-sheng Wang; (DD/CD)Ting-yi Lo, Che-sheng Wang, Chia-ru Lin, Beatrice Cordella, Meng-yue Ruan, Qi-ping Yang, Li-chi Yeh, Ya-zhi Guo, Che-kang liu; (CA)Yun-shan Huang, Chia-ru Lin, Ting-yi Lo, Ya-yun Wang, Wei-chieh Pan, Yun Chen, Ting-yi Li, Cheng-wei Li, Chih-hung Wang, Yung-hsien Fang, Jui-pao Chan, Tien-hsi Hsu, Ya-tieh Yu, Guan-wun Chen, Yu-lun Liang (MAYU Architects)

Installation Advisor: Frontier Tech Institute of Engineering Design & Consultant

Text description provided by the architects. The oldest city in Taiwan, Tainan has a rich history influenced by different cultures. There are remnants of maritime trade with Europe in the 17 th century, of the Chinese Ming Dynasty, and Japanese settlements from the beginning of the 20 th century. The city is rich in temples, including the famous 17 th century Confucius Temple with its cantilevered roofs and beautifully carved ceilings. The new library takes from this history, is inspired by the local culture, and has been designed for the tropical climate of Tainan. It is home to the city's cultural heritage, modern art, music, films, and over a million books, including more than 16,000 from the Japanese occupation period, and of course, is equipped with the latest technologies of a modern library.

Bamboo forest. The most striking feature is the inverted stepped shape of the library. Slender columns support the cantilevers in rhythmically placed quartets, giving a feeling of weaving your way through a modern bamboo forest. The striking crown of the building is surrounded by vertical aluminium slats with carved flower patterns, which are reminiscent of the decorative latticed windows in the old town. These slats filter the light and keep the heat out. In the evening, this unique facade is recognizable from afar.

The stepped building offers shelter to visitors both inside and outside and creates a smooth transition from exterior and interior. Below the cantilevers are four sunken patios for outdoor activities, with the largest accessible from the square; lectures, concerts, and exhibitions can be organized here. Looking up, you can see the special finish of the awnings: champagne-coloured aluminium panels with a linear staggered relief, providing additional decorative elements to the facades. The rational construction of the library allows maximum flexibility so that the building is prepared for future changes.

Art and books. Once inside, the double-height atrium is inhabited with a work of art by Paul Cocksedge. The installation seems to freeze the moment when white sheets of paper are blown away by the wind, symbolising freedom of thought and the pleasure of reading. Art is exhibited everywhere in the building, not just to look at but also interactive art to touch and play with. A red sculptural staircase adds an exciting element to the geometric building, intersecting all levels and is visible everywhere through the subtle wooden-slatted flight of stairs.

The ground floor is spacious, transparent, and warm due to the wood finish. Upon entry, you are greeted by an arrivals area and the welcome desk, a living room is also located here where you can read newspapers and magazines. Touchscreens with which you can explore the collection and a self-service point for borrowing books also feature on this level. The children's library with imaginative bookcases and an adjoining patio under the awning for outdoor play is situated below. This level is also home to a spacious study room with its own entrance, where students can study 24/7.

Heritage collection. As you make your way to the upper levels of the building, you first encounter a media library with seating and alcoves where you can watch movies, along with a library for teenagers with its own lounge. The general collection is located on the level above this. Beyond there is a floor dedicated to the heritage collection including the Tainan Memorial Exhibition, Japanese Collection Archive, and books by Taiwanese authors.

There are also four outdoor areas situated here, which are arranged as roof gardens, as well as three multifunctional spaces for classrooms/workshops and a cafe. At the top of the building, you will find the theatre and conference hall, along with offices for members of staff. From the uppermost levels of the building, a beautiful view of the city through the vertical slats is on display. Furthermore, the building has an art gallery, a maker space, and Braille library. There is also a bookshop so that you can not only read books but also purchase them.

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Tainan Public Library / Mecanoo + MAYU Architects

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Design Principal: Francine Houben (Mecanoo), Malone Chang, Yu-lin Chen (MAYU Architects) Design Team: Rodrigo Louro, Friso van der Steen, Rodrigo Bandini, Johan Hanegraaf, Rachel Lin, Yuli Huang, Yuanyuan Chen, Natalia Leszcynska, George Orfanopoulos, Antonio Sanna, Wanjen Lin, Yunying Chiu, Tsailing Shih, Eliano Felicio, Nienke Andersson (Mecanoo), (SD)Ting-yi Lo, Yun-shan Huang,

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The competition winning proposal for the Jiaxing College Library & Media Center, designed by LYCS Architecture, seeks to break antiquated design conventions by intelligently negotiating contemporary architectural design into the traditional Chinese campus. Surrounded by rich woods and luscious water, the 42000m2 library plays with hierarchy - the hierarchy of multiple, increasingly private spaces; the hierarchy of the pace of spatial experience; and the hierarchy of introversion and extroversion. More images and architects' description after the break.

A division between the campus and the courtyard, the library encourages public activities in the courtyard and on the roof garden while limiting excessive visual interruption to the three lobes. Instead of using the traditional circulation of straight staircases, a gently sloping ramp wraps the core creates a softer circulation experience that responds to the information-oriented architecture. Slicing the corners off of the triangular plan softens the form and allows for better utilization of daylighting.

The double layered facade lifts from the ground plane by a nurbed surface, creating a theatre-like experience of form : as one progresses toward the center court, the facade curves extrudes to a height of 35 meters, expanding into three roof gardens that converge toward the geometric center of the plan. A floating crystalline form is achieved by the juxtaposition of the glossy reflection of the aluminum/glass facade and the gentle curves of the lakeside.

The first two levels of the building contain museum, archive, and network center, with a library above. The views at the perimeter open to the landscape outside, while the ramping forms create varying vantage points within the building, weaving a multiplicity of experiences between the green spaces, reading spaces, and common areas.

Architects: LYCS Architecture Location: Jiaxing, China Architect of Record: Architectural Planning Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University of Technology Project Leader: Ruan Hao, Devin Jernigan, ZhanYuan Project Team: Vedrana Puhalo, Jin Shanliang, Max Peterschmidt, Li Yan, Chen Rong Size: 42,000 sqm Project Period: 2012-2014

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Jiaxing College Library & Media Center / LYCS Architecture

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The competition winning proposal for the Jiaxing College Library & Media Center, designed by LYCS Architecture , seeks to break antiquated design conventions by intelligently negotiating contemporary architectural design into the traditional Chinese campus.

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Text description provided by the architects. The architectural design concept of the library station is based on the traditional Chinese bamboo writing slips, which were the main media and writing medium in China with a deep cultural and historical reference. Together with modern spatial composition, use of environmentally friendly materials and barrier free design, a comfortable and harmonious library station is created. The bamboo-tubes ceiling and bamboo-strips screen are few of the design features that bring the traditional reading atmosphere to life.

A visual contrast is formed between the durable steel mainframe and the natural materials of bamboo and wood. The bamboo-tubes ceiling and bamboo-strips screen not only allow the external space to flow into the interior, but also reduce energy consumption by the use of natural daylight and cross-ventilation.

The feature ceiling diffuses the sunlight and softly illuminates the space with patterned shadows. Environmentally friendly recycled plastic flooring and natural wood from sustainable source are also used. The architecture is designed for all, and it was developed with inclusive design in mind from the conceptual stage. Reading tables of various heights are provided for users of different ages and needs.

The library station wedges into the small but fertile community services void: it seeks to facilitate people who do not have formal library services nearby and those who are unable to meet the libraries opening hours. This encourages reading via the provision of automated round-the-clock services with enhanced convenience and accessibility. With the challenge in quality control and logistic arrangement being successfully overcome, a natural and stylish environment is established to promote the intelligent library services in Smart Hong Kong.

Application of "Modular Integrated Construction" concept allows mobility and holistic reuse of the station. The major elements of the station were all prefabricated off-site and therefore shortened the on-site installation time to the minimum required. Vast reduction of the possible nuisance to the nearby neighborhood and implication of inclement weather to the working programme were achieved.

A fully re-usable sustainable design: when necessary, the entire station can be hoisted up and relocated. It was constructed without foundation required by relying on its self-weight instead, thus existing floor finishes was not interfered. This demountable library station is fully capable to cope with the ever-changing demand on public library services by the local residents.

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Self-service Library Station / Architectural Services Department

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Text description provided by the architects. The architectural design concept of the library station is based on the traditional Chinese bamboo writing slips, which were the main media and writing medium in China with a deep cultural and historical reference.

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nArchitects' Library as Home has won first place in the 2016 International Young Architects Design Competition for the 110,000 square meter Shanghai Library East Hall in China. Hosted by the Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Government, the competition sought out designs that enhance Shanghai's distinct cultural influence and promote community life.

Library as Home reflects these goals in its design as "a large house for all, with a rich variety of environments that Shanghai 's citizens could appropriate as their own."

The proposal was further inspired by the connections between people, media, and nature in libraries of the ancient world.

The design features four pairs of open and compact floors, which alternate throughout the building. Open floors will connect the library to nature and the city beyond, while compact floors will store a range of information formats and supporting functions. Environments for social interaction, reading, research, archiving, and public amenities are spread throughout the library.

Exterior gardens create a continuous public interior by connecting the four open levels of the library. These open floors become the library's and the city's Patio, Living Room, Atelier, and Study.

Design Team: Eric Bunge, Mimi Hoang (Principals), Albert Figueras (Associate, Project Lead), Wei Wen, Jessica Cheung, You Chia Lai, Thomas Heltzel, David Yukio Kagawa, Kyle Brill.
Learn more about the project here.

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nArchitects Wins Shanghai Competition with Home-Inspired Library

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nArchitects' Library as Home has won first place in the 2016 International Young Architects Design Competition for the 110,000 square meter Shanghai Library East Hall in China. Hosted by the Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Government, the competition sought out designs that enhance Shanghai's distinct cultural influence and promote community life.

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Text description provided by the architects. Located in Daijiashan Village,Eshan She Nationality Township of Tonglu, Zhejiang Province, the Avant-Garde Ruralation Library is the 11th Bookstore run by the Librairie Avant-Garde. With the culture-spreading idea --Avant-Garde and Library, as well as the unique regional natural and human landscape of the 'Shes' village, this project has become the public life bond among local villagers and alien readers, and also become a a focal point of local cultural and creative industries. The main body of the library was an idle yard lying at one side of the village's main street, including two yellow mud adobe houses and a platform projecting from a slope. While maintaining the structural and spatial sequence of the buildings and courtyards, the architectural design restores the current declined status to a healthy state. The relationship between the new and the old strengthens the 'timing'. The carriers of time and memory - the adobe walls, tile roofs and roof trusses have become the spatial dominance, and have jointly created context-continuing contemporary local aesthetics, together with the publicity of function regeneration.

The Chinese thousands-of-year tradition roots in agricultural civilization. The authentic Chinese architectural tradition lies in the rural settlement, the organic and integral urban-rural relations, as well as the continuing development model lasting for thousands of years, which is a sort of territoriality based on 'cultural consciousness'.Our thinking focuses on the fundamental aspect 'time'. The touching built environment characteristics in any area are the strength of time depositing. Comparing with the irresistible 'time', the 'space' design meticulously constructed by architects tends to be more personalized, and cannot face the challenge of life.

In the Avant-Garde Ruralation Library renewal project, the creation of architectural space i.s strictly constrained, and carefully made as an imperceptible time 'rest'. The new elements including courtyard corridors and interior facilities are attenuated by their pure form.Equally important, these subtle formal elements - which also are the industrialized and productized addition, is crucial relating to the contemporary function of libraries. The re-established spatial boundaries of the 'old' building created by the 'new' elements re-direct the past time to reality. From the construction process to the cultural management integrating into the rural life, the 'new' and the 'old' together contribute to a stage of life scenarios, rather than an abstract purified spatial definition.

To adapt to the new function of the library, the most critical design strategy is to lift up the roof. The internal beam-column frame which supports the roof has been heightened by 60cm as a whole. Taking the advantage of the increased height, the high windows can be constructed; thus light, air and the beautiful bamboo forest landscape are naturally introduced into the interior reading space. The realization of the roof uplifting mainly relies on the local craftsmen's traditional skills - extending partial columns by the means of crafty tenon skill. Parallely the renovation of the grey-tile roof is undertaken; the thermal insulation construction attached to the sheathing has greatly improved the thermal performance of the old building. Outside the building, due to the high windows the original adobe walls and grey-tile roof take on a dramatic performance -- closed and open, heavy and light, forming a gentle landscape focus of the village against the background of the trimmed outdoor landscape and lighting design.

The permeable wooden grille corridor linking the main room and the partial room is able to strengthen the functional connection between the renewed library and the café, and also to redefine the sensitive experiencing sequence of the outdoor space. In between the streets, the stairs and the corridor, a compact and friendly front yard is situated;passing through the tortuous corridor, or coming out from the inside of the building, the building, the corridor and the arc-profiled platform come into sight, which together define the outdoor reading space. Inside the building, the well-organized stairwell, partial platform, and permeable bookshelf partition contribute to spatial publicity; the renovated wooden roof structure forms a bright and powerful space atmosphere by means of intensifying the lighting.

The most common brick masonry structure is applied to the café foyer added within the partial room on the east side, the stairs and the toilets constructed in the main room on the west side. Its independent foundation treatment has a reinforcing effect on the main structure of the original building. With the highly-attenuated form of industrial products, the newly-built interior walls, floors, stairs, furnishings and other facilities define the time boundaries of the traditional building, and form the regulating mechanism of the contemporary new function; thereby the space is enabled to accommodate continuing and developing contemporary regional life experience.

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Avant-Garde Ruralation Library / AZL Architects

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Text description provided by the architects. Located in Daijiashan Village,Eshan She Nationality Township of Tonglu, Zhejiang Province, the Avant-Garde Ruralation Library is the 11th Bookstore run by the Librairie Avant-Garde.

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Admont Abbey Library, Kirchplatz, Admont, Áustria

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Artist/Designer: Josef Hueber, Bartolomeo Altomonte

Project Location: Austria

Primary Material(s):
Stone, Plaster, Paint

Significant Date(s):
18th Century

Additional Information:
The Admont Monastery is one of the oldest existing monasteries in the world having been founded by Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg in 1074. Since its foundation, the monastery made great strides to collect and preserve culture artifacts, especially books. The library has since then taken the role of a cultural monument as it functions as a complete work of art as well as a repository of knowledge. Commissioned by Abbot Matthäus Offner and designed by Joseph Hueber, the library is ornamented through various artistic genres including painting, sculpture, metal work, fresco, and architecture. Hueber's design is characteristic of Enlightenment ideals of the Baroque period, which is demonstrated through his use of light that shines in through the 48 windows and is reflected by the gold and silver ornamentation throughout the space. Moreover, the ceiling is divided into seven cupolas which are decorated with frescoes by Bartolomeo Altomonte, each representing a stage of human knowledge, from science leading up to its highest point, Divine Revelation, in the central cupola. The bookcases beneath the cupolas are decorated with gilded acanthus leaves and molding; they contain numerous volumes of the monastery's book collection, mostly consisting of various editions of the bible and other such theological literature. Along with the frescoes and stucco appliques are a group of over-lifesize sculptures by monastery sculptor Josef Stammel of "The Last Things." Representing death, the last judgement, heaven and hell, these works contrast with Altomonte's frescoes however they make reference to the original "source material" of the Abbey- that of religious devotion.

Publications/Texts in Print-
Gotze, J. 2002. "The Natural History Museum of the Benedictine Abbey, Admont (Austria), Diptera Collectionis P. Gabriel Strobl". ACTA- UNIVERSITATIS CAROLINAE BIOLOGICA. 46: 219-220.

Building Address

Kirchplatz 1, 8911 Admont, Austri

Supporting Designers

Frescoes by Bartolomeo Altomonte
Sculptures by Joseph Stammel

Tags:
Library, Austria, Austrian, Frescoes, Marble, Baroque

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Artist/Designer: Josef Hueber, Bartolomeo Altomonte Project Location: Austria Primary Material(s): Stone, Plaster, Paint Significant Date(s): 18th Century Additional Information: The Admont Monastery is one of the oldest existing monasteries in the world having been founded by Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg in 1074. Since its foundation, the monastery made great strides to collect and preserve culture artifacts, especially books.

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Text description provided by the architects. The competition place is located in Vittorio Veneto street in Maranello (Modena), inside a well- established residential fabric. The building borders with a residential court on the north, with a public green area on the west, with a residential building on the south built in adherence and with other residential buildings on the East and partially in adherence. The project we propose presents a surface equal to 1175 mq. It is the existing building renovation trough the existing north perimeter walls maintenance, east and south confining with some residential offices, the demolition of the central part of the prefabricated and the construction of a library as a volume contained within the old building's height limits and devoloped partly outside the earth and partly under the earth. The access to the new library is situated on the west side.

The project has developed starting from the definition of three main spaces, corresponding to a consulting area, a great reading room and to the multipurpose rooms, these last rooms usable independently. Inside these three main spaces the consulting and library patrimony storage areas, the newspaper library, the sound archives and video library, the game room, the multi - functions room, the study hall, the historical local archive, the exposition and temporary exhibitions room are foreseen. Some service spaces have been foreseen inside these rooms which foresee some stations for catalogues consultation and for internet access, users' loan desk, administrative offices for library's staff and the library warehouse. A division of reading spaces has been foreseen according to possible users'category and a particular attention has been paid to 0 - 6 aged children's spaces, for those children between 6 and 10 years and for those between 11 and 14. High school and university students instead have consulting and study areas which don't interfere with the others. The building is composed by three main volumes conceived to satisfy the functions contained in them in the best way.

A transparent volume which hosts the coffee house is located at the ground floor, with a service space and a wide counter, expositive spaces for the association "Maranello myth's land and all the library consultancy and reading areas. The volume mirrors on the water surface which surrounds it and water reverberates the deep green colour which enriches the boundary walls preserved by the project. A platform roof juts towards public spaces and acknowledges architecture from the street ; inside the absolute white of the resin floor and of furniture shines with external green reflected through the continuing glass wall, which runs along the curvilinear shape.

The light which pervades the library open space performs in a reflection game which bounces from the furnitures' white elements, the floor's elements and the structures' elements, to water and to the continuing transparent glasses. A single opaque volume is positioned on the south side, also pure white coloured, to contain service spaces, the stairs going down to the basements and to the game room, provided with a window to allow natural light. The basement floor consists of a parallelepiped accessible by a stair and an elevator for invalids, with a function of goods lift for books. We immediately find in a free space constituted by multifunction room and by the expositive space, which can be set up at one's pleasure. In this underground area also storage spaces for library patrimony find a collocation, as well as the historical local archive which has little apposite consultative areas.

Originally published on 6 April, 2013

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Maranello Library / Andrea Maffei Architects

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Text description provided by the architects. The competition place is located in Vittorio Veneto street in Maranello (Modena), inside a well- established residential fabric. The building borders with a residential court on the north, with a public green area on the west, with a residential building on the south built in adherence and with other residential buildings on the East and partially in adherence.

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Architect Of Record, Sustainability, Leed Consultant, And Mep Engineering: Stantec: Stantec

Design Architect, Landscape Architect, Interior Architecture: Snøhetta

Text description provided by the architects. Sited at the intersection of two major pedestrian pathways, Polett Walk and Liacouras Walk, and at the nexus of Temple's Main Campus, the project anchors a new social and academic heart for the university's diverse student body of over 39,000. Woven into the fabric of North Philadelphia, the building sits just one block off of Broad Street, the connecting artery to the city. Within its dynamic urban context, Snøhetta's design, developed in collaboration with Stantec, reinterprets the traditional typology of the research library as a repository for books, integrating the building with a diversity of collaborative and social learning spaces. And in offering more than double the amount of study spaces than its 1960s predecessor, Paley Library, the 220,000-square-foot Library anticipates over 5 million annual visitors. By uniting a plethora of academic resources, disciplines, and cutting-edge technology under one roof, Charles Library stewards Temple's progressive mission to provide equitable learning experiences for its students, its faculty, and the surrounding community.

The landscape and site strategy capture this public-facing role, with generous plazas that slope up to the library entrances, not only inviting people in but also providing space for outdoor classrooms and informal gatherings. The building's solid base is clad in vertical sections of split-faced granite, referencing the materials of the surrounding campus context. Grand wooden arched entrances cut into the stone volume and announce a welcoming point of entry. Expanses of glass create maximum transparency at the three major entrances. The soaring arches continue into the building, forming a dramatic 3-story domed atrium lobby. Within the central atrium is a 24/7 zone, as well as computing workspaces available to Philadelphia residents. The building's arched entries and expansive plazas extend a welcoming invitation to all visitors, and while its unusual geometry expresses a distinct identity, its massing is carefully attuned to the scale and materials of its neighbors.

The lobby's domed atrium offers views to every corner of the building, serving as a wayfinding anchor and placing the user at the center of the library's activity. An oculus carved into the expansive cedar-clad dome allows light to pour into the lobby from the uppermost floor, connecting the terminus of the library back to its beginning. The steel-clad main stair is immediately visible from the entry as it winds up to the highest level of the building, inviting people to climb upwards. As people move through the building, this visual and physical connectivity allows them to maintain their bearings and encourages usage of all of the building's resources.

At the base of the main stair, the one-stop service desk provides the first interface between library staff and students, and facilitates their access to the library collection, stored primarily in the high-density automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS), affectionately termed the 'BookBot.' At fifty-seven feet tall, it spans three levels of the building and currently stores 1.5 million volumes with a capacity of nearly 2 million, allowing holdings previously housed in off-site deep storage to be relocated on-site. By drastically reducing the space required for book storage while also expanding access to the Library's collection, the BookBot enables increased space for collaborative learning, academic resources, and individual study space.

To that end, the library's design houses multiple partner programs and academic resources under a shared roof, while responding to the demonstrated need for increased seating. Anchoring the second and third floors are the Student Success Center, which offers writing and tutoring support; the Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Studio, with access to digital fabrication and immersive technologies; and Temple University Press. Charles Library is also committed to an all-mobile technology strategy, offering laptops and charging banks on every floor, which in turn liberates workspaces from being locked down by traditional desktops as the technological needs of the students continue to adapt. More than 40 meeting rooms and study spaces, interspersed throughout the building, are available for reservation. In welcoming students from all departments, and offering access to cutting edge technology and a variety of study spaces into a centralized location on campus, these resources will be more accessible than ever to the student body.

While the library offers a uniquely diverse space program tailored to the emerging needs of contemporary students, it also offers the focused research experience of traditional academic libraries. The serene, sun-filled fourth floor encourages visitors to meander through the stacks of the library's browsable collection. Roughly 200,000 volumes anchor the center of the room, while more private study spaces line its perimeter. Balancing the north and south ends of the fourth floor are two expansive reading rooms, dedicated to graduate, faculty, and undergraduate study. Glazed on all four sides with glass, with views out to the lushly planted green roof, the fourth floor offers an unexpected retreat that feels embedded in nature. Conceived as an amplified meadow landscape, ornamental grasses and herbaceous perennials form the foundation of these reading gardens, through which drifts of curated flowering species and bulbs emerge punctuating color and interest throughout the year. The roof gardens, composed of upwards of 15 different species, provide rich urban habitat for pollinators and a calming visual foreground to the views of the campus and city beyond from the interior of the library.

Covering over 70 percent of the building's roof surface, the 47,300 square-foot green roof is one of the largest in Pennsylvania and also plays a key role in the site's stormwater management system. The Charles Library site at large is designed to capture and retain a maximum amount of rainwater not only from the Temple campus but also from Philadelphia's aging infrastructure, which has been historically overburdened during storm events. Designed to meet the progressive Philadelphia Water Department guidelines, the library's stormwater management system includes the green roof, pervious paved plazas and paths and landscaped planting beds that infiltrate rainwater, and two underground catchment basins that together can store and process nearly half a million gallons of water during storm events. Taken altogether, the project manages all rainwater runoff on the roughly three-acre site, as well as for an additional acre of offsite impervious ground.

Charles Library embraces the needs of contemporary students and evolving models of learning. By enhancing the visual and physical connectivity to academic resources and fostering learning through social interaction, the design inspires students to engage more directly with the library's activity. It also marks one of the largest investments in new facilities in Temple's history and serves as a central point of intersection between students, faculty, staff and the surrounding community. As a world-class facility for Philadelphia 's only public university, the project marks a transformative moment not only for the Temple University but also for the city, and for academic libraries around the world.

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Charles Library at Temple University / Snøhetta

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Architect Of Record, Sustainability, Leed Consultant, And Mep Engineering: Stantec: Stantec Design Architect, Landscape Architect, Interior Architecture: Snøhetta Text description provided by the architects. Sited at the intersection of two major pedestrian pathways, Polett Walk and Liacouras Walk, and at the nexus of Temple's Main Campus, the project anchors a new social and academic heart for the university's diverse student body of over 39,000.

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Gallery of The Cloudscape of Haikou / MAD Architects - 2

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Image 2 of 28 from gallery of The Cloudscape of Haikou / MAD Architects. Photograph by CreatAR Images