A typical type of cultural infrastructure supporting the city and the daily lives of people, has been constantly developed to keep up with socio-cultural needs of the contemporary society. The objecive of a library is to promote easier accessibility to knowledge, and support tighter relationship between the users. Further, a new paradigm of library, ‘a responsive and interacting public network’, must come forth as a proto-type for future cities to come.
This humble yet iconic typology is a new channel that interlaces the city, the landscape, the library and the people, which will inject vibrant public spaces to the city of Songdo. We envision the Songdo Central Library to define a new realm of public library where various breadth of bookshelves, forests, and gardens are embracing the architecture.
A Role of Future Libraries
While the functions of conventional libraries dwell on knowledge ‘storage’, we focused on the role of libraries as the platform of exchanging knowledge. This also implies while libraries of the past have a one-directional flow of knowledge, the future library will encourage information sharing within interactions of people, and connection with media.
Stacked bookshelves and divided floors – the conventional library architecture may have provided efficient storage capacity for accumulating book collection and records, but has also acted as a blockage against encounters and connection. The new architecture form will invite different groups of communities to expand their social boundaries and provide a shared public space by implementing visual connection.
A New Typology of a Public Library
Our fundamental approach is to propose a new typology of public libraries where diverse categories of knowledge are being shared on a network of elongated, horizontal plateaus interweaving each other. Stretching out a conventional massing not only manifests the new role of a future library but maximizes the library’s reach of influence relative to its total area.
This also forms a tighter connection between the infrastructure and its surroundings. Criss-crossing each floor accommodates a greater amount of porosity in architecture with layers of bookshelves, and trees loosening the border between the interior and the exterior.
The divergence of gentle, multiple seams is not mere formal gestures but offers meandering pathways blending the architecture with the gardens from the smallest to the largest scale. Walking through these pathways, people would gradually converge from the city to the library, and freely stroll in the forest of books and trees.
Outdoor Space Strategies
The site is delicately designed to maximize its porosity. Every element of nature subtly induces different types of circulation. Buffer park on the east side of the site is linked to the 2nd floor of the library and sunken pathway is introduced acroos the library for garden-like experience.
Program Strategies
In the first phase, four horizontal branches are introduced for each floor. Pleateaus accomodate most of the volumes for books. Glass pavilions then stitch those branches and provide reading space full of daylight and greenery. The second phase starts with categorizing specific programs for each pateau and glass pavilion. Cultural and educational programs are mostly placed in the glass pavilions becoming a public chamber for communities.
A Library Growing with Nature
Landscape design induces and circulates every element of nature and people. The wooden facade gradually turns its color to greyish brown and the trees grow over time.
The scenery of the library changes by seasons. The future library will coeixst with the forests as the trees occupy their space all around the site.
Deliberate Use of Building Systems
Sustainable system is thoroughly adopted to the library from the facade to the overall system. Wooden facade module is sourced locally and prefabricated with milling process to achieve minimal carbon footprint.
Further, diffused light through the facade allows maximum daylight for reading space and at the same time, limits light on bookshelves. Interior space is designed with wooden material to avoid high carbon-emit. The criss-crossing form of the building allows maximum ventilation system and provides gardens full of greenery. Water cycle management system is installed to reuse rainwater for plants and other water treatments.
