A NEW OUTLOOK FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY IN THE FUTURE, LUBLIN - POLAND
The competition proposal for the public library of the future in Lublin attempts to redefine the perception of the function of this facility in the light of current social needs. It is a synthesis of existing knowledge repositories and didactic spaces adapted to modern learning methods. The shape of the building aims to provide an atmosphere conducive to comfortable education supported by greenery and naturally illuminated rooms, in order to avoid the overwhelming fast pace of urban life.
National
Poland
Lublin - city, but it could be anywhere.
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
A new outlook for a library, as building for people and not for books. A notion based on data digitization and its categorization. Abandoning enormous library spaces in favor of a circular layout, affixed to which are study rooms. The arrangement of the building is divided into four diagonally divided parts, similar to a compass.The entirety of the building is intersected by green courtyards and its center is an amphitheater with a Compass Rose that resembles a monastery patio. The amphitheater is complemented by a beam of light and a cascade of water surrounding it.
It is a contemporary vision of an antique and medieval thought of education, a project inspired by antique temples of knowledge and medieval monasteries.
This library is designed for studying in a well adapted environment, while providing the openness and contact with nature to its users. It breaks the stereotype of silence, gloominess and sterility of libraries in favor of technological progress and futurism. It aims to meet the needs of its users and create a space that is well-lit by diffused light, ventilated and with a healthy relationship with nature. A walk around the library will be like experiencing a walk on a park avenue. The future and knowledge are joined by the awareness of change, therefore this project is based on pro-ecological solutions. The construction will be made of glulam and the dividers of CLT. Additionally, the whole building will be covered by a green roof, on which water will flow down to be stored and filtered for reuse. Thanks to the omnipresent greenery, the building simply blends into its surroundings, becoming a local green island in the urban tissue of the city. It can be a distinctive point on the map of every city, fulfilling not only its educational function but also that of a local community center, where people of different faith, nationality and interest can spend time on a common goal - self-improvement.
FUTURE
DIGITALIZATION
MODERN LIBRARY
NATURE
BALANCE
The project is adapted to the climate of eastern Poland, which is characterized by large temperature amplitudes. Hot summers and cold winters pose design challenges for architects of this region. Many of these problems can be eliminated at the design stage. Its shape was created with the idea of adapting it to the environmental conditions. The outer contour of the building is enclosed in a compact shape, limiting heat loss, additionally covered by an openwork facade acting as a "second skin". On the north-south line, a variation of heights appears with an opening to the south, for the sake of lighting and reheating. The highest point is on the north side, shielding the functional part of the building. Green courtyards intersect the facility on an east-west line, just as the winds in the area act, to allow ventilation of the facility. The sustainability of the facility appears in the very idea of the building - digitization of knowledge, abandonment of physical books, reduction of library loads and thus material expenditures in construction. The structure of the building in order to reduce the carbon footprint was designed with glulam, and the vertical and horizontal partitions with CLTs allowing for adequate thermal insulation. The entire structure is covered by a green roof that allows rainwater to be collected and discharged into underground tanks, where it will be treated and reused in the facility, to be treated again and distributed around the site through numerous rain gardens. The building will blend into the surrounding greenery becoming a habitat for many species. The omnipresent greenery also provides a protective barrier against the sun and pollution. Mechanical ventilation with recuperation has also been introduced. Green courtyards, meanwhile, have the option of glazing to reduce heat loss in winter. Due to its default location, the project largely forgoes car-parking by relying on public transportation and other forms of transport.
Libraries were originally places for a select few, only priests and wealthy people had access to knowledge. Today it is different, libraries are public places accessible to all sections of society - at least in theory. So why hasn't the form and layout of libraries changed over the years? They are big warehouses for books, not spaces that foster learning, development, or build communities.
THE CIRCLE OF KNOWLEDGE is meant to be a point on the map that binds everyone nearby and beyond. The revolutionary layout welcomes with an entrance area with food and beverages, so avoided in library buildings treated as sacred zones
The designed space is intended to be human-friendly. The building is translucent, with the possibility of it being completely open to the surrounding greenery - both the exterior and the interior courtyards. A person suddenly finds themselves in a treasure trove of knowledge surrounded by ever-present greenery. He can step out into the sunshine and study in the fresh air.
Giving up a huge library space full of bookcases in favor of individual study rooms placed like points on the road means that people with similar interests will be in a smaller, confined but comfortable space. This will have a positive effect on the emergence of conversations and exchanges between them. The learning process will also be enriched with modern technologies and equipment bringing public education to a higher level, while equalizing differences in societies.
The facility is intended to be open to the public, and is adapted for people with disabilities and children.
The form of the building is a kind of nod to history, as it was inspired by ancient temples and medieval monasteries, as can be seen from the central layout based on circles and the amphitheater being a metaphorical beginning with a sheaf of light and a cascade of water. The whole creates a unique microclimate and an environment friendly to science and people.
In recent years, education has taken a new turn. The knowledge we are acquiring is leading to new discoveries and the development of technology, which in more recent years has reached heights previously unimaginable to man. This is a huge step to change educational systems. Young children are now familiar with advanced technology, learning to speak and write with the help of electronic devices that surround us everywhere on a daily basis. Despite the many positive aspects that ubiquitous technology has brought into our lives, it also brings with it a string of consequences. The wealth disparity among young people is clearly highlighted, the education system has changed and students without access to modern laptops are put at a loss from the start. The rescue for them should be modern urban libraries, but are they adequately equipped? Libraries in Poland as spaces for people still do not exist, serving mainly as storage spaces. The Circle of Knowledge is supposed to be a revolution in this subject, just like modernists were in the last century. It will be a facility that is accessible and adapted to all users. Indigent people will be able to use not only book resources, but also electronic databases and computer equipment. The library is also equipped with numerous conference and auditorium rooms, and the entire facility can easily turn into a convention center thanks to its openness and transparency. This provides an opportunity to use the library space not only for academic purposes, but also for social purposes. This is a new look at libraries as community centers, an opportunity to blur differences in society.
The Circle of Knowledge is a point where the library ceases to be a storage space and becomes a community center tailored to the needs of its users. It is intended to be a well-known point on the city map boasting interesting initiatives and events. This is made possible by a functional layout that is unusual for a library and the abandonment of the large-scale storage function. The introduction of smaller rooms arranged linearly in relation to each other and interspersed with green courtyards gives them new possibilities and changes the character of the educational space. The intimacy and separation of library departments not only by bookcases, but also by vertical partitions and their appropriate development makes us allow people with similar interests to meet in these spaces and exchange experiences and knowledge. This will create small communities - interest clubs. Creating such structures is very necessary for the community, it provides a sense of belonging, integrates, gives a sense of community and acceptance.
The openness of the premise - sliding doors connecting educational spaces with courtyards allow for the abandonment of divisions and any modification of the space. This makes it possible to hold educational events both inside the building and outdoors. Such modifiability allows users to give the space a new meaning. The facility can host poetry evenings, language classes, extension courses, lectures, vernissages, or it can simply be used as a library.
Additional flexibility and mobility is provided by the designed catering facilities and café spaces, capable of serving all kinds of events and serving as the heart of the facility and meeting place. This is a move away from the semi-dark individual study that is so popular in libraries, to the creation of communities open to each other.
Prior to the development of the project, a social survey was created in the form of a questionnaire among students and young learners from all over Poland via social networks. The questions the respondents were asked were:
1) In what conditions do they like to study?
2) What bothers them about the libraries they know? What changes do they expect?
3) How often do they use the library, how much does it meet their expectations?
4) What educational spaces do they think they need?
From the answers given, the following conclusions could be drawn:
1) Most of the respondents prefer to study individually or in a group of friends, and often eat or drink while doing so. There was information about changing the environment - learning in a cafe, in a park.
2) Libraries are dark, lack seating, have no electronic equipment, paper versions of books are limited and one has to deal with the lack of availability of items. Suggestions for change include introducing electronic systems, digitizing information, illuminating library spaces, adding seating areas
3) Libraries have low popularity, often lacking needed items, especially new ones. Many books are available only on the spot and there is no way to borrow them. Information available in books can easily be found on the Internet. Old items have unreadable fonts and are difficult to use.
4) Libraries should be bright and open, young people want to be able to prepare school group projects in them. The option of combining a cafeteria with a reading room, introducing computer rooms are welcome.
The information collected contributed to outlining the design problem and inspired the creation of The Circle of Knowledge project.
In developing the concept, knowledge of human psychology, sociology was taken into account. Thanks to the literature and numerous conversations with the potential audience, it was possible to outline the design problem and propose a solution.
During the design process, the author consulted with instructors from the Wroclaw University of Technology, of which she is a student. The teachers' subjects of interest were architecture and construction. Their advice and input made it possible to propose a logical and correct structural layout, appropriate selection of installations and technology.
The entire project was developed in accordance with the Polish Technical Conditions that buildings and their location should meet. The concept meets the regulations regarding required distances, escape routes and fire protection.
The Circle of Knowledge is a revolutionary project among other library projects mainly due to its unusual functional layout and the abandonment of a large library and storage space. What makes it unique is the introduction of a balance between outdoor and indoor areas thanks to the introduction of green courtyards that intertwine the educational spaces. Adapting the facility to the needs of the disabled, ensuring its public accessibility and responding to the needs of potential users, for example, such as providing catering facilities.The project is also distinguished by its strong metaphorical character - a layout on a compass plan, an amphitheater with a wind rose located in the center and concentric circles of different radii spreading from it, divided sequentially into seasons, months, etc. The whole building gives the impression of spreading energy as if after throwing a stone into the water - in the likeness of changes occurring due to a single idea. In the center is a sheaf of light that is a metaphor for enlightenment and a manifesto of the importance of education in human life. The layout of the library, despite its simplicity and legibility, is reminiscent of a labyrinth that is a metaphor for the path to knowledge, but also because of the assumption that architecture is supposed to evoke emotions and its use is supposed to be an experience, and such a feeling is evoked by walking through a labyrinth full of greenery, where the solution to the "puzzle" is the center with an illuminated amphitheater surrounded by a cascade of water.The strong point of the project is also its futurism, a response to climate change, the low-carbon technologies used, but also going a step further than typical facilities with similar functions and introducing digitization and electronics into the library offer.The project is characterized by strong ideology, but also sensitivity to human needs and meeting them. The building is an addition to the urban fabric that is missing.
Certainly noteworthy in the project is the unusual functional layout that puts the library as a space in a whole new light. Allowing it flexibility and leaving a kind of freedom in its use.
In addition, the technologies used especially in Poland, where the building is designed, are not as common as they could be. Due to the harsh climate, there is a pervasive love of concrete, where much more ecological and human-friendly materials such as laminated wood can provide similar thermal comfort.
The project also addresses the problem of technological withdrawal of modern libraries, which is probably due to high costs. However, it can be predicted that in the near future the digitization of information and the need to provide electronic equipment will force libraries to transform and modify the way they operate, as exemplified by the proposed project.
Also worth noting is the proportion of green areas in relation to development and their intertwining. Its lack is a problem of many European cities especially in the eastern part of Europe. Man of the 21st century desires green areas and wants to surround himself with them, so why should we deprive them of this, instead of offering architecture blended with green surroundings?
The concept touches on social inequality, the lack of progress evident in educational spaces, the lack of out-of-the-box solutions to design problems and strenuous adherence to the beaten path. It also touches on climate change and sustainable design and the introduction of eco-friendly solutions.
The designed building is to be the center of the local community and allow everyone equal access to education using modern technology in a comfortable environment. The project revolutionarily changes the perception of library space by introducing a unique functional layout and rejecting common concepts.
The proposed technologies are low-carbon and chosen with attention to the welfare of the planet. The design is based on greenery, which it seeks to introduce.
The overall design responds to the needs of its users.
