Library architecture

The Trinity College School campus is made up of old neo-gothic brick and stone buildings dating from the late 1800s, and woven together with buildings built throughout the 1900s. The primary goal of the Learning Commons Project was to create a space that supports and encourages multiple learning styles: social learning, individual study, group study, group projects, one-on-one guidance, and classroom instruction. With this in mind, and to accommodate a growth in space needs, an underused courtyard near the heart of the campus was enclosed to create a new Student Commons space. Scott Norsworthy Scott Norsworthy Scott Norsworthy A large new lower lounge space was designed to be flexible in order to accommodate various student,... More

The SQUARES in Tianshui is a communal facility that combines a public library and community welfare services with sustainable architecture. Designed by Japanese-led SAKO Architects, it was China’s first zero-carbon library. The building reflects SAKO Architects’ penchant for bold, geometric architecture that blends playful forms with cultural sensitivity. SQUARES is defined by a series of interconnected square rooms and motifs. Its thoughtful, light-filled design fosters intergenerational connection and quiet reflection in a small residential town setting. Luo Juncai Luo Juncai Caption   A community hub The Yangzheng Library, the project’s official name, is located in the Panjizhai village of Tiansh... More

The main idea of the project became that assumption, that the building of the  National Library building, while retaining all its previous advantages and modernist character become more intuitive, ergonomic and ecological. It was decided to give the interiors of the reading rooms a new, proper hierarchy and, through the natural materials used, to emphasize their rank. The National Library building was designed in the 1960s by architect Stanislaw Fijalkowski and his team. Changing over the years requirements for storing and access to the collection as well as the technical conditions of the building itself have forced its modernization in terms of reading rooms and public spaces. In 2015, a two-stage architectural competition... More

This is not just a library, not just a 83-year-old bathhouse monument, not just a cultural venue.   Down the corridor, with lights filling upwards and incoming scent of books, one can let go of the chaotic outdoors and enjoy being bathed in spirits and knowledge. 李國民攝影工作室 Kuomin Lee Taking the inspiration from a drop bathhouse, pick up a book from the bookshelf made of stacked birch plywood, sink it in. The plywood reveals a gentle light that accompanies people like a book bath, immerse them in invisible thoughts. Words recording speeches, speeches shaping the communication between the inspiration and creativity between inner hearts and mind. Here, it doesn’t just serve the purpose of personal gatherings, the possibilitie... More

This project would fall not so much into the traditional library but rather function as a place of diverse activities in the city, an essential part of the inhabitants’ lifestyles as well as the ”face” or symbol of the city. Caption   This proposal is for a new urban space to act as the library, the park, and the new activities space of the city. It is also a meaningful place where people naturally spend their day to day lives. This library as a new landscape of the city would be truly unique and give the community a new rebranded identity.  Caption   ARCHITECTURE IDEA “Grows the tree limb library on landscape”  The theme of merging architecture and landscape naturally is app... More

It is a public library located in Tonami City, Toyama Prefecture.   The spectacular scenery of the quiet Tonami Plain is unparalleled. The panorama of the scattered villages, which was once the food basket of the Kaga domain, has been passed down from ancient times as a beautiful idyllic landscape. The reason is the dignity of the locals, who have both rationality and a rich spirit, and have evolved into a traditional wooden farmhouse called Azumachi. With that image in mind, I came up with the concept of an "open plan library under a big roof" facing the main street that runs through the city.   We wanted the roof with scale and gentle rolls to be a new landmark in Tonami. It is a modern interpretation of Azumadachi and is al... More

NEW MECHANICS HALL FOR THE EPFL The ME building, dedicated to the mechanical engineering department, was built by the Zweifel + Stricker + Associates team in the early 70s, during the first phase of development of the campus. Its spatial organization bears testament to the tenets of the original master plan: the separation of cars and pedestrians into two different flows, as per Modern Movement in architecture principles, means that access to the building happens on multiple levels. The building has a three-dimensional grid (23’-7” length by 12’-9” height) which divides its space in a controlled way, regardless of type or purpose. The original master plan was revised several times over the ensuing decades, to question some of the initial p... More

The new Central and Regional Library provides an interface between the city and the park. On one side lays the nearby veins of the city, the motorway and S-Bahn, and on the other, resides the vast expanse of the airfield with its former runway cutting a straight a path alongside. Highlighting its public nature, the iconic presence of the geometric structure links the building to its role from afar, and beyond this immediate context, also with the city and the site. Both of the narrow tower-like facades facing the street and Tempelhofer Field use their staggered, space forming surfaces to invite and welcome visitors inside. Since most visitors will arrive at the library from the city centre, it is addressed towards the planned city dist... More