Taltal Public Library by Murúa-Valenzuela

Link: Dezeen

Designed by architects Murúa-Valenzuela, this three-storey-high library is located in the coastal town of Taltal, Chile where it faces a public square and a recently completed theatre.

Photography by Macarena Álvarez.

Kanazawa Umimirai Library by Coelacanth K&H Architects

"Reading – for the sake of knowledge or enjoyment, or to explore the world of the human imagination – is one of those experiences that gives you a sense of emotional and spiritual richness quite different from economic or monetary well-being. In this sense, the act of creating a space that surrounds you with books is undoubtedly linked to the creation of a new, enriched sense of public values...

...This library consists of a single quiet and tranquil room that resembles a forest, filled with soft light and a feeling of openness reminiscent of the outdoors. "

Full story: link

Photography by Satoshi Asakawa.

Rem Koolhaas' Seattle Public Library with graphics by Bruce Mau

Full story: Link

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Stonehouse & Stromberg's The Architecture of the British Library at St Pancras

I had to create a special order for The Architecture of the British Library at St Pancras by Stonehouse & Stromberg. They do list it at Amazon but it's around 70 quid. So instead - for the bargain price of £2.50 - I got the university to loan a copy on my behalf. It was actually sent from the British Library itself.

Anyway, aside from liking the idea of a book on loan from the British Library that's about the British Library, it's a really useful resource. It has all the architectural plans alongside some tasteful photography. The layout is nice too but it's the accompanying text which explains more about what the architecture was trying to evoke that might assist in the upcoming design work. There seems to be a philosophy behind the environment that I may be able to incorporate when producing this project's deliverables.

If you are a bit flush, you can buy it here: The Architecture of the British Library at St.Pancras

Stadsbiblioteket in Malmo

Another day, another country and yet another library. This one was just a short train journey from Copenhagen in Malmo, Sweden. Again, it was a calming space despite [because of?] its cathedral-like proportions.

One especially nice aspect of the architecture was the small study booths almost assembled like book cases along one side where people worked in relative seclusion whilst stacked up - three units high. Another clever addition was the checking in system which takes the books on a conveyor belt to be put back on display. To get there they travel under the floor with the publications visibly moving through the building under a glass panel.

We also got the wrong train on the way back. We mixed up 'Helsingor' and 'Helsingborg' and, instead of heading back to Denmark, we got to see some very grey Swedish countryside.

The Black Diamond

I'm in Copenhagen for the weekend so thought that I should check out the city's landmark Black Diamond: a bold extension to Denmark's Royal Library.

It is a great building and one that - even despite its cavernous, semi-industrial interior - feels particularly serene. Maybe the Danes are better behaved but it also seemed to be less noisy than some of the other libraries I've been investigating in the UK. Also being a design-conscious, cultural nation, the elegant gift shop was stocked with a selection of beautiful but sometimes weighty publications devoted to such subjects as furniture design, typography, interiors, architecture and music [the Black Diamond also hosts performances]. It's just a shame that everything is so expensive here.

However it wasn't the favourite location that I experienced yesterday. That honour has to go to Arne Jacobsen's Nationalbank headquarters with its breath-takingly modernist - yet proportionally almost ecclesiastic - foyer. With the current British Library-linked project for the 3Dmax class, I have actually turned my attention to staircases [sort of considering them as metaphors for how sound moves spatially through an environment] so this one located, within an almost silent space, proved interesting. Lovely use of text on the outside too.