This beautiful library will make you want to move to Canada
Can a library be the heart of a city ? In the case of Calgary , the largest city in alberta (in Canada), it seems so. Here, more than half the population -consisting of 1.2 million people- has user card of some public library, so that the place where the library is located Central Library , the largest and most important of all, has been lent a lot of attention. So much so that its construction has resulted in the biggest investment of the Town Hall since the celebrations were held there Winter Olympic Games , in 1988.
architectural beauty
Due to its high membership, Calgary's public library system "plays An important paper at the time of connect residents coming from all walks of life", they explain from Snøhetta , the architectural studio in charge of designing the building. "Consequently, the new Central Library was catalyzed through a important public engagement process . In 2012, a series of programs were carried out in which more than 16,000 people provided information about what they expected from the Library, about your paper and their role within the community.
The result is a construction that catches the eye with its organic beauty , and in which Snøhetta and the multidisciplinary design firm DIALOG have managed to " {#resultbox} offer spaces for all kinds of people and activities , for interaction and social exchange, to study and learn, to the tranquility and introspection, to defend unique civic function that libraries offer today," they explain.
A construction that catches the eye
To do this, the creators have had to integrate the train that passed through the plot in a crescent path -splitting the city in two- inside the building itself. "In response, the design lifts the main entrance above the encapsulated train line. Gently terraced slopes rise up to the heart of the building, allowing people arriving from all directions interact with the library. Outdoor amphitheaters located on the terraces provide spaces for people to they feel and library programs they spill outside. What has been planted, strongly related to the native landscape , brings the mountains closer and grasslands of Calgary into the urban landscape and aligns the surrounding streets of the plaza with elms and poplars. Serving as a portal and a bridge, the entrance plaza heal the seam that previously divided these two neighborhoods and restores the visual connections and pedestrians throughout the site", they explain from Snøhetta.
Inside, moreover, the crudeness of the material palette -which are presented with simple finishes, and are based, above all, on timber - is intended to give people the feeling that "the library is a space for participation , instead of a sacred repository for books", they continue. So much so, that their organization has been carried out from most fun ... until you get to the most serious.
"Organized in a spectrum ranging from 'Fun' to 'Seriousness', the library program locates the more lively public activities on the lower floors, gradually transitioning to study areas quitest at higher levels, like an upward spiral. At street level, a series of multipurpose rooms they line the perimeter of the building, enhancing connectivity between inside and outside. On the ground floor, a children's library offers playhouses with space for crafts and activities based on drawing, early literacy programs and a gaming experience in the interior of all space.
thinking of the children
In this way, on the highest floor is the Great Reading Room , "conceived as a jeweler hidden inside the library, which provides a space for the concentrated study and inspiration. It is accessed through a transition space with softened light and acoustics ", say its creators, demonstrating that all kinds of people and functions can fit in a library... and giving us a horrible desire to stay live in Calgary.
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