Our approach to the design of a new library for the Cricket Club Of India has been informed by our thoughts on what a library in the information age must do. In increasingly digital times, fewer people than ever visit libraries - and those that do, don’t stay, but only come to take/ return books. As the need to physically access books diminishes, the library must be seen as a house of knowledge rather than a house of books. This means activating the space by providing for exchange of ideas between people through activities. Social interaction will give people a reason to visit, and more importantly stay in the library. 

On a conceptual level, the design of the bookshelves draws from nature, in particular of sitting under a tree with a book. These modular “trees” with concentric circular bookshelves are arranged around the existing freestanding columns in an otherwise open space and built in slim metal sections cladded with Western Hemlock.

Arc-shaped loose bookshelves double up as partitions to create semi-enclosed spaces that will facilitate these activities, providing a layout that is flexible and dynamic to suit various future usage patterns, and provide a modicum of privacy when needed. 

The library is divided into zones depending on the way people read. For browsing and quick leafing through books the zones around the trees, and for longer reads the lounge-style seating by the windows, where daylight is maximized. An adjacent room used for the practice of Zumba has been adopted by the library for use as an event space during downtime. This is where workshops, author readings, book clubs/ discussion groups will be held.

The branches of the trees intertwine in the ceiling to create intricately woven meshes, recreating the sense of walking through the woods with dappled light filtering through canopies above.