4~5

New Cultural Centre in Madrid

Location: Madrid, Spain Designed by: FÜNDC (C. GARCIA & P. MARTIN, Architects) Completion date: The project has a couple of unprecedented design solutions such as “mega-
2011 Photos©: FÜNDC Site area: 10,280 square metres tree-pots” and a transformable hall. The pots allow for the growth of medium-
large trees above an underground parking, making possible green areas where
usually just hard squares are found. The hall allows for an use modification
on the cultural building programme, as it can switch between exhibition
promenade and auditorium mode through the manipulation of movable floor
decks.
The built size of the intervention, both under and above ground comes near
to 20,000 square metres. It consists on the urbanisation through a new
uninterrupted stone pavement, fountains and “mega-tree-pots” around a New
Cultural Centre building. The latter is composed of two different architectural
typologies, old and new, which work on a symbiotic manner providing traditional
and transformable spaces. Under these areas and building a double-deck
parking absorbs the vehicle impact working together with underground roads
and bus stops, freeing the upper square spaces to pedestrians and bikes.
“This intervention changes the traditional way of understanding new pedestrian
areas on built environment as it does not choose between pedestrians or cars
but accepts both, re-positioning them.” as explained by architect Cesar Garcia.
“No need for road restrictions when you can reposition them underground. No
need for lack of parking places as you can multiply them on levels. No need for
flat hard public squares when you can grow large trees, necessary for urban
comfort on this climate.”

1. Front plaza
2. Side view of the entrance
3. Front façade
4. Side view of façade

1 2
 6~7

1 3

1. Building with plaza in the night

2
2. Night view
3. Foyer 1
2
3

4 7 8

5 9
10 10
9

9
6
11

15

13
12
17

14 16

1. Exhibition hall 10. Office

2. Exhibition hall 11. Wardrobe
3. Expo / offices / meeting 12. Coffee / standby
4. Tower ladder 13. Hall
5. Cabinet 14. Multifunctional hall access
6. Stairway to terrace 15. Room support
7. Access hall offices 16. Multifunctional hall access
8. PB ladder 17. Room
9. Toilet
 8~9

1. Special-designed stair and resting area

3
2. Exhibition space / hall
3. Lecture room seating detail

1
10~11

South Miami Dade Cultural Centre

Location: Florida, USA Designed by: Arquitectonica Completion date: 2009 Photos©: Robin Hill Area: The facility consists of a 6,643-square-metres cultural arts centre that includes
6,643 square metres a 3,158-square-metres stage-house with 1,579-square-metres front-of-house
and public lobby space. The centre is a 966-seat facility that is intended to
be used as a multi-purpose community centre to stage theatre and orchestral
productions as well as local functions such as graduations and school plays.
The back-of-house consists primarily of staff accommodations, building
services, administrative offices as well as receiving and storage facilities. The
activity building comprises a 700-square-metre structure with high ceilings for
the gallery, dance rehearsal and classroom spaces. It is intended that these
can be used for local community meetings and after-hours adult education
classes.
The two buildings are joined by an outdoor promenade leading to a gently
sloping lawn for outdoor concerts and festivals along the Black Creek Canal.
Outdoor activities along the canal edge aid in the activation of the waterfront in
tandem with the Park and Recreation.
The design for this new cultural arts and community centre is based on
movement. The buildings reflect the spirit of movement, moving the patron
through a visual as well as physical experience, making the patron a performer.
The flow of people begins with the monumental ramps at the exterior of the
building and continues through to the brushed aluminum grand-stair that
delivers each person to the orchestra level and balcony levels above. Glimpses
of people circulating behind a panelite-screened wall punctured with openings
of various sizes at all the balcony levels, reinforces the idea that the building
is designed with two prosceniums. The obvious proscenium is the one located
within the performance hall as the traditional stage is set; the exterior frame
around the full height curtain wall forms the second, subtler proscenium.

1. Overall building viewed from lawn

2. Front façade in dusk

2
 12~13

1. Front façade at night

2. Entrance lobby

1. Main building
2. Activity building
3. Theatre
4. Dressing rooms
5. Parking
6. Loading area
7. Lawn
7
8. Planter
5 8

8
3

8
1
2
8

2
 14~15

1 3

1. Office
2 4
2. Dressing room
3, 4. Rehearsal hall
 16~17

1-3. Auditorium
3

1
18~19

ASSEMBLING – Associative
Cultural Centre
Location: Saint-Germain-Lès-Corbeil, France Designed by: RMDM Architects Completion date: 2009 The amazing building of Associative Cultural Centre, which is located near Paris,
Photos©: Hervé Abbadie Building area: 2,450 square metres France is designed by RMDM Architects. True and creative, RMDM Architects
agency puts its energy in the research of a sensuous architecture, responding
to the events that surround it, entire and poetical, ambitious indeed, but far
from the obviousness of the conventional.
This is a modern cultural building design composed of two entities: a library
(rehabilitation) and a multi-activities hall (construction) linked by a shared lobby
and courtyard garden. The project is built around the reception spaces and a
garden under control. The garden itself can structure the space, like a cloister
where the spaces and functions eventually meet.
This diversity programme serves in an architectural design, where a game of
simple and readable volumes, each incorporating a functional cluster. The
concrete structure is made distinctive by the process of materials: the exterior
is clad with horizontal strips of poplar wood and ceramic tiles.
The linear frontage device is important. Indeed in order to minimise the visual
impact from surrounding houses, the project extends as much as possible. It is
a project sculpted by its programme, with its volume obviously becoming more
complex in its division. Developing its own identity, this comfortable cultural
building is subtly inserted in its environment.

1. South façade
2. West façade, the place
3. West façade, the square
 20~21

1 3

1, 2. Patio, the garden

2
3. Interior gallery

1 Library/rehabilitation
2 Multi-activities centre/construction
22~23

Ordup Culture Building

Location: Ordup, Denmark Designed by: Søren Robert Lund Arkitekter and Studio NORD Completion Ordup Culture Building is a compact hybrid building with emphasis not only on
date: 2008 Photos©: Søren Robert Lunbd arkitekter Construction area: 3,500 square metres 项目名称：奥德普文化大楼 design but also on the content.
It is developed in a user-driven design process where a library, sports facilities,
auditorium and teaching are weaved into one consistent building. The green
iconographic envelope are embracing these programmes in one gesture
allowing the difference of each component to become one.
The idea about an outer and inner compression/deformity is underlined in
the choice of materials, where the outer shape is defined by a green glass
fiber coated façade, which opens up like a portal to the inner deformity. In the
interior, the border between the different functions, are a mix between concrete
surfaces and open glass areas. These compressions and deformation motif are
used on the vertical surfaces and in the horizontal organisation of the building
and is recognisable as two different elements weaved together.
On the ground level all floors are green as a carpet of artificial grass. On the
first floor the grass and by that the nature, is pulled up by the green slopes and
creating a bridge throughout the building from east to west.
As a central crossing point in the building the main stair and the assist stair
are placed as an element that both express the vertical deformity of the figure,
but also uses the horizontal surfaces in the building. The stair is designed like
a sculpture steel element and this gives the motif to the rest of the building
surfaces covered with steel.
The iconographic character of the design allows for a renegotiation of the
typology of the cultural building. It neither expresses the dryness and dullness
of the library nor the rigidity of the sports building. The envelopes iconographic
nature instead becomes a openness of interpretation, a building that will
grow with its use. It becomes a building that reinterprets the historian Greek
gymnasium where body and soul were given equal weight.

1. Façade detail
2. Multipurpose hall façade towards the park
3. East façade
4. Façade detail

1 2
 24~25

1 3 4

1. Multipurpose hall 1. Entrance

2 2. Lobby 2. Hall
3. Flexible sports facility 3. Reception
4. Stairs 4. Gym
5. Library

5
4

2
1
 26~27

1-3. Exhibition hall

2

3
28~29

The Montarville – Boucher la

Bruère Public Library
Location: Montreal, Canada Designed by: Brière, Gilbert + Associés, Architecture & Design Urbain This project includes an atrium, a new entrance hall, a new library promenade,
Completion: 2009 Photos©: Christian Perreault a new loans counter and a complete reorganisation of all the library collections.
After an initial assessment of the library’s current context, it was the untapped
potential for a visceral connection to the wooded area in the adjoining Rivière
aux Pins Park that was the stimulus for the conceptual approach and further
development of that idea.
Inspired by the formal logic of the existing building (four similar squares that
revolve around a central core), the expansion suggests for one of these squares
a shift in emphasis and an opening up to the nearby woods. This establishes
new, open-ended connections between the building and its surrounding
environment, redefining the heart of the library and ensuring a comprehensive
unity, integrating the existing building with both the new addition and the
adjacent woods.
In that sense, the two main elements that give structure to the landscape and
clarify its harmonious integration are a large wooded area completely open
to nature and a new library promenade, a formal exterior pathway that runs
through the entire site.
The woods are an identifying element visible from the street and the
surrounding area, heralding the presence of a cultural institution in an urban
landscape. The three floors of the new extension mean lower costs and
preserve as much as possible the trees adjacent to the building. The three
storeys are home to the library’s three general collections – books for children,
adolescents and adults.
Taking advantage of the natural topography of the site and of the proximity of
the trees, a large three-storey glass wall allows for diverse visual links between
the indoor spaces and the woods. Consequently, each clientele (children,
adolescents, adults and senior citizens) benefits from a distinct relationship
with the vegetation, the trees and the foliage, which inspire calm, silence and
rejuvenation.

1. Overall building viewed from lawn

2. Side view of the building
3. Main entrance

1 2

3
 30~31

1. Back façade
2. Library

1
2

4
10

8
5 1. Audiovisual
2. References and e-library
10
6 7 3. Heritage hall
4. Documentary room
9
5. Hall
6. Multipurpose room
7. Toilets
8. Youth sector
9. Service technique
2
10. Professional offices
 32~33

1. Interior access detail

2
2. Entrance of the library
34~35

Gijon Aquarium
Location: Gijon, Spain Designed by: Alvaro Planchuelo Completion date: 2007 Photos©: Studio Alvaro The Gijon Aquarium is located at the end of the urban renewal for Poniente
Planchuelo, Ricardo Santonja, Alberto Cubas Area: 4,650 square metres beach recuperation, the seashore façade of the city during the 20 th century.
The proposed solarium was formerly occupied by boat construction companies,
today abandoned and demolished, leaving behind just the docks for ship
construction.
The aquarium pretends to integrate itself with its surroundings using these
docks to creating a slightly curved façade toward a great entrance plaza, which
closes the beach areas and the west seaside walk to the remaining industrial
zones left in the bay.
Externally symbolic models are used based in the main feature of the city of
Gijon: its vocation port. The volume setting refers to its tradition: wood and
steel boxes stacked in the port arrived from world’s oceans and seas.
The interior offers an ambitious collection. A virtual tour starting and finishing
in the port of Gijon, offers the major wildlife sanctuaries underwater we know.
It goes from the river Cantabrian coast, the Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, the cold
waters... to the tropics, the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, the subtropical waters, etc.
The themed environments, the soft light and the colours, accompany visitors on
their journey. Each aquarium claims to be a world in itself, a recreation of each
ecosystem, a living witness box of distant worlds.
The building is divided in two main volumetric zones, the fluvial aquarium,
located in the sea over the dock, and the oceans aquarium or land building.
A ground floor hall, located between the two volumes, gives access to
complementary placements: shop, screening room, workshop for teaching,
offices, restaurant and dock recovery of marine mammals. The volumetric
configuration references the port tradition of the city; using prismatic masses,
wooden stacking between stainless steel elements.

1. Aerial view
2. Back façade
3. Overall view of the building

1
 36~37

1 3

1. Façade viewed across water

2
2. Canopy
3. Side view of façade
 38~39

2 3

1, 3. Interior landscape
2. Interior bridge

1
40~41

Human Evolution Museum

Location: Burgos, Spain Designed by: Juan Navarro Baldeweg Completion date: 2009 Photos©: The project consists of a cluster of three-dimensional pieces – Museum of
Courtesy of Juan Navarro Baldeweg Area: 8,746 square metres Human Evolution, Human Evolution Research Centre, Congress Centre and
Auditorium – grouped into a compact unitary volume. The museum occupies a
central position in the building and also in the project’s origin, setting the goals
in the overall building organisation.
Metaphorically speaking, the pieces are: a basket, some boxes, and a cape that
covers these objects. Two of the boxes are dark and closed, one is open on one
side, the last one is a transparent box. The basket envelops the museum. The
dark boxes are the conference halls (large and small), the transparent box is an
exhibition hall (for all sorts of objects) and the semi-open box is the research
centre. The whole ensemble is covered by a flexible, waving sheet that shelters
the various pieces.
The museum interior is a large area with abundant top lighting. It houses the
prisms or sections of earth that suggest fragments of the landscape at the
nearby Atapuerca site. It is easy to imagine this environment as a greenhouse
in which the subsoil also takes on great visual importance. The corridors or
“gorges” boxed in between the prisms are used for educational presentations
of the geological or paleontological aspects of the archaeological site. From
these corridors one can appreciate the strata that define and contextualise the
deposits of human and animal bones and the remains of their technology in
the evolutionary process. What they explain is expressed using architectural
resources: the walls hold the information and at the same lime recreate the
spatial experience of the excavation profiles and the strata of the land.
All the rear of these large prisms trays or areas are set aside for a more
conventional part of the museum, for objects and installations on three floors.
These floors are linked by ramps that permit cross-views of them and, hence
their exhibition areas, with the possibility of integrating their contents.
The building structure is both concrete and mixed concrete – steel. The siding
material is a double screen system that combines transparent and silver
glass opaque glazed surfaces, steel panels and amber stone. The roof is also
aluminium and glass.

1. Aerial view
2. Main entrance

2
 42~43

1. Façade detail
2. Building surrounded by greenery

1
 44~45

1. Canopy
2
2. Façade detail
3. Interior landscape

3
46~47

Fjord Museum
Location: Québec, Canada Designed by: Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux Architectes/Dupuis Along the north shore of the St. Lawrence and stretching deep into the rugged
LeTourneux Architectes in consortium with BCS + M Architectes Completion date: 2004 Photos©: Saguenay Fjord, the landscape leaves an indelible and inescapable sense of
Steve Montpetit existing on the edge. That edge is marked as a sharply etched line between
land and water, between an almost impenetrable wilderness and an ancient
but unpredictable base for communication, commerce and transport.
Along the river, wide valleys etched out by powerful ice flows millions of years
ago sweep down from the north but remain above sea level and have provided
a viable if sometimes precarious agricultural livelihood for its European
settlers. In contrast, the Saguenay Fjord was scoured long and deep leaving
an awesome shoreline that is dramatic, raw and often uninhabitable. At the
same time, its mix of salt and fresh water and the relative shallowness of its
entry into the St. Lawrence have ensured a rich aquatic life below its grey-blue
surface.
The modest Fjord Mueseum rests on the shores of Baie des Ha! Ha! In the
hamlet of La Baie 222 kilometres northeast of Quebec City. This village-owned
interpretive facility is intended to celebrate as well as explain this unique
biodiversity and the social and cultural history it has helped support. A simple
but elegantly detailed box that conceals some difficult functional solutions,
the $3.3 million expansion plays transparency against opacity and in doing so,
introduces a subversive twist to local convention.
It was there that an abstracted “billboard,” played out against the church,
and based on a interpretation of traditional eel nets stretching along the local
tidal flats, introduced their fascination with the idea of mediating architectural
screens. Their use, LeTourneux explains, is about “the whole idea of openness
and protection while at the same time you get to see something but you see it
through the filter of architecture.”

1, 2. Façade detail
3. Terrace

1 2

3
 48~49

1 3

1. Side view of the building Ground floor plan - Museum

2
2. Reception 1. Main entrance hall
3. Entrance seen from the lobby 2. Multimedia room
4
3 3. Didactical exhibition
4. Permanent exhibition
12
5. Temporary exhibition
11
2 6. Reception and preparation room
5
7. Collections
10
Ground floor plan – Community Centre
9
8. Multipurpose room
8 1 6 9. Hall
10. Office
7
11. Classroom
12. Studio

The first floor plan – Museum

1. Hall
7
2. Offices
3. Collections
4. Meeting room
5. Storage
12 6. Projection room
7. Observation footbridge
6
The first floor plan – Community Centre
8
8. Hall
10
11 4
9. Office
9 1 2 10. Domremy room
5 3
11. Filles d’lsabelle room
12. Dance studio
50~51

New Cultural Centre in Ranica

Location: Ranica, Italy Designed by: DAP studio/Elena Sacco – paolo danelli; arch. Paola Giaconia The city of Ranica, in the province of Bergamo, Italy, inaugurated its new
Completion date: 2010 Photos©: Alessandra Bello Construction area: Public library: 850 sqm, Cultural Centre. The project, designed by DAP studio and Paola Giaconia, is the
Kindergarten: 370 sqm, Auditorium: 230 sqm, Dance and theater school: 310 sqm, Bar: 50 sqm outcome of a competition launched by the Municipality of Ranica in 2005 to
Award: OAB Award 2011 endow the town with an important institution that would augment its cultural
and social life.
The recently opened cultural centre was completed in less than two years
of construction, and represents a new cultural and urbanistic beacon in the
territory, laying the foundations for an alternative urban organisation. Thanks
to this new building, the medieval town is able to revitalise its historical urban
fabric by fastening it to a new contemporary hub, capable of nourishing the
surrounding territory. In its devotion to culture and cultural enrichment, the
institution plays a fundamental role in defining the spaces for the community.
“The Cultural Centre is conceived as a new catalyst of urban life. Not only is the
building a laboratory for education and information, but it also becomes a new
“piazza” where people can meet and where citizens can reinforce their sense of
belonging to their territory,” the architects explain.
The building – housing a public library, an auditorium, a kindergarten, and a
school for dance and theatre – is made of two volumes, one laid on top of the
other, centring on an interior courtyard capturing natural light and attracting
pedestrians. The building hosts a new “piazza”, a new meeting point for the
citizens. In this sense, the project for the new Cultural Centre reconceives the
ground. The building maintains harmony with the surrounding landscape. The
lower volume is transparent, revealing the activities, which take place inside to
passerby, stirring their curiosity. The upper volume sits on its top and becomes
an urban signal. Its translucent polycarbonate sheets glow with vibrant tints and
allow the silhouettes of people to be seen through the colourful watery façade.
The snow-white and sober interiors reveal a complexity, which endows the
spaces and the activities taking place in them with a powerful dynamism. In the
vast double-height space of the library the various functional areas appear as
independent volumes, connected by means of elevated catwalks and visually
linked to the central patio. The interior spaces become a representation of a
lively urban scene where the various places are connected by a grid of paths, to
be walked through as well as enjoyed in moments of pause and encounter.

1. The interior courtyard capturing natural light and attracting pedestrians

2. Side view of colourful watery façade
3. Main façade view
4. The Cultural Centre stirs the urban landscape aesthetically and winks at the silvery
shimmers of the nearby mountains

1 2
 6~53

1 2 4

1. View from the top of the reception

3
2. Transparent entrance
3, 4. The library

5
7 7

1. Entrance
2. Reception
3. Staff office 7
4. Library 1

5. Café
6. Auditorium
7. Courtyard
54~55

New Centre of Lehen

Location: Salzburg, Austria Designed by: Architekturbüro HALLE 1 Completion date: 2009 Photos©: The “New Centre of Lehen” project is a dominant piece of architecture
Angelo Kaunat (Salzburg), Mag. Gebhard Sengmüller (Wiem) Construction area: 12,023 sqm Awards: surrounded by largely insignificant buildings. Concerning urban space, the
Otto Wgner Städtebaupreis “Raum:Werk:Lehen”, 2007/Anerkennung Landesarchitekturpreis district has been given a completely new identity and the opportunity to start
Salzburg, 2008/2009 European Steel Design Award to develop a new self-consciousness through this project. The new facilities
are reminiscent of the old Lehen stadium, whereby, the playing surfaces have
a similar structure and present people with a certain sense of nostalgia. The
use of the slanted tower with the Panorama Bar could be described as an
emblematic support for this retrospection.
The architectural language of the project meets high international standards
in its liberality and its memorable power of organisation and task definition.
The implementation of a constructive design is especially unique and its form
developed exclusively based on the location, the interpretation of its history
and the given tasks.
The old stadium in Lehen has been transformed. The essential centre of a
stadium, the playing field, this great empty green surface, presents the central
content and the actual value for the utilisation and, as a tribute, was kept at
the same size and made into a peaceful public park with an “English lawn”,
accessible to the general public.
The sparse features preserve the character of a generous, noble lawn surface
which, as a kind of green lung in the centre of Lehen, is a contrasting place
of relaxation to be seen and reachable from all sides and in contrast to the
pulsating drive all around it. As a central element, this open space mediates
between the commercial, social and sacral facilities. The idiom of the
enthusiasm/disappointment felt watching a football match is interpreted into
a contemplative view of a park to which the viewer is draw because it promises
relaxation and reconciliation. All the buildings on the park side are completely
covered in glass and have generous verandas, terraces and loggias reminiscent
of stand boxes to keep the events alive and give the archetypical observer the
chance to participate in them.

1. In the eastern part of “Neue Mitte Lehen”

2. The entrance side western part of “Neue Mitte Lehen”, entrance side of the library
3. The western part of “Neue Mitte Lehen” with the Panoramabar

1
 56~57

1. Foyer, western side, library

2. Inside the western part, the foyer of the library

1. Park
2. Terrace
3. Room for events
8 4. Meeting point for retired persons
5. Checkroom
6. Foyer
7 7. Entrance left side
6
8. Main entrance
5

1
 58~59

1-3. Library interior

60~61

Gabriela Mistral Cultural Centre

Location: Santiago, Chile Designed by: Lateral Arquitectura & Diseño Completion date: 2010 Photos©: A building for arts and culture should always be varying degrees of transparency
Nicolás Saieh Area: 44,000 sqm and not only share and engage users directly but also to the whole community.
Therefore, the architects opted for a design that provided openness with in
the public spaces and transparency into the interior spaces. The halls for the
performing arts of music, dance, and theatre, are on display to the public as
“boxes or containers.”
Horizontally the building is organised around three volumes that contain and
represent the three major programme areas. These are the Documentation
Centre for the Performing Arts and Music, the Training Room of the Performing
Arts, and the Great Hall Theatre seating 2,000 people. The three buildings are
separate at street level providing multiple covered pedestrian spaces. At the
lower levels all three buildings are directly connected.
The main materials that make up the building are all possible to find in the
original building with five design elements that are worth noting: weathering
steel, reinforced concrete in sight, glass, steel, and wood. The use of the
weathering steel (with holes) creates an immediate visual link between past,
present, and future.
Given the specifics of the programme each room was treated independently
looking for the best acoustic comfort according to its corresponding activity.
For example, the Music Hall presents a design of inclined planes and breaks
that are capable of directing high quality sound to all viewers and maintaining
a warm contemporary expression. The Music Hall along with the Dance Room
have space for audio and lighting control located at the bottom of each
chamber taking the place of the old translation booths from when it was the
Building Diego Portales.

1. Back street view

2. Main entrance
3. Open terrace for lounge and connecting with the upper level

1 2

3
 62~63

1. Weathering steel (with holes) creates special façade for the cultural centre
2. Lounge behind weathering steel (with holes) façade

1. Covered west square access

2. Auditoriums hall
3. Auditorium 1
4. Auditorium 2
5. Subway side access
6. Store 1
7. Store 2
8. Coffee shop
9. Access hall 2 building
10. Covered east square
14 11. Theatre
13
12 12. Theatre’s hall
13. Buried backyard
4 8
5 2 10 11 14. Pre-existing building
1 9
3
6 7

2
 64~65

1 3

1. Central atrium under special designed roof

2 4
2. Main entrance to the volume
3. Interior hallway
4. The Great Hall Theatre
66~67

Sjakket
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Designed by: JDS Architects Completion date: 2008 Photos©: The Sjakket project involved the conversion of a former factory building into
Felix Luong, Vegar Moen, JDS Architects Award: 2008 Contract World Award for Best Educational/ a cultural centre for young people. This is a social project undertaken in
Learning/Cultural Facility the industrial north-west part of Copenhagen, which has a large immigrant
population. The building not only offers the local youth a meeting place with a
well-meaning, but also is a high-minded programme of cultural improvement.
Sjakket speaks the language of the streets and makes a bold statement.
The architects decided not to remove the graffiti on the outside walls, but
to take them seriously and use them as inspiration for the building’s colour
scheme. The raw industrial architecture has not been prettified: indeed, the
same rawness is deliberately echoed in a striking new addition. Thus the
project revitalised the existing building.
The designer gutted one of the vaulted buildings in order to allow space for a
vast sports hall, and then organised the smaller, more intimate programmes
into the second half. A large garage door installation also allows the south side
to open into the courtyard, acting as an extension into the urban realm. Within
the existing “canyon” between the two vaulted roofs a secret oasis of sorts was
conceived as a roof deck. Above this space, the studio of Ghetto Noize Records
is located in an industrial shipping container, spanning the two peaks. This
exists as the only architectural addition to the massing of the building and has
become an icon of Sjakket’s presence on the industrial skyline of northwest
Copenhagen. This structure echoes the containers in the nearby port and
makes a bold statement on the Copenhagen skyline.
Inside the building, the facilities provided by this new meeting place are
attuned to the needs of its young clientele, with a sports hall, a bathing area, a
recording studio and numerous smaller spaces for more intimate gatherings.

1. The graffiti on the outside walls were not removed and been taken as colour theme of
the renovated building
2. Distant view of the building
3-4. Within the existing “canyon” between the two vaulted roofs a secret oasis of sorts
was conceived as a roof deck. Above this space, the studio of Ghetto Noize Records
is located in an industrial shipping container, spanning the two peaks

1 2
 68~69

1 3

1. The former factory building reborn with young life

2
2. Sports hall inside
3. Meeting/gathering space
 70~71

1. Public and intimate space combined in one space

2. Hallway with glass curtain wall also provides good view of the outer surroundings

1
 72~73

1. The new world for the youth to think and create

2
2. Bathing area
3. Foyer connecting to numerous spaces for intimate gathering

3
74~75

Cultural Centre Miguel Delibes

Location: Valladolid, Spain Designed by: Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura Completion Date: 2007 The project of the Cultural Centre Miguel Delibes is presented as “a city of
Photos©: Carlos Casariego Award: Spanish Architecture Awards-Category Winner, 2008 art within the city” and that goal is being met with operating schools and the
different and varied programmes of activities in the three rooms.
The architectural design of such facilities is complex, given that it is a surface
of 54,000 square metres, which combine the various disciplines (training,
auditioning, performing arts, public and academic functions). The architects
think it could be very interesting from the standpoint of performance-and-
teaching-mixing professionals (musicians, choreographers, dancers, etc)
training school students, as they are professionals in the future.
The set is a large open space inside which is located some steps “boxes”
(chamber hall, auditorium and experimental theatre), along with their relevant
schools (conservatory of music, drama schools and dance school). Its three
most important elements are the structure due to the great lights, sound and
scenery. In these three sections has worked with national and international
teams due to the large size of the work. One of the most important issues
for the architects was the acoustics. It had to be impeccable and this has
conditioned many of the materials part of the Boards of both the coverings and
ceilings as furniture.
From the point of view of sustainability Miguel Delibes Cultural Centre is
equipped with a lighting time management to ensure that no misuse of it. To
reduce water use, plumbing fixtures are equipped with mechanisms for eco-
efficiency (two tanks downloads, fluxores, water-saving buttons ...). The air
conditioning vent is recovered by the energy that is expelled to the outside from
the room returning a portion of this using the recoil energy enthalpy.

1. General night view

2. Main entrance
3. General day view

1
 76~77

1. Public and academic space

2. Training space
3. Performing arts centre 1. Theatre’s interior view
4. Audition area 2. Main Concert Hall’s view
 78~79

1. Theatre’s interior view

2. Main Concert Hall’s view

2
80~81

Docks of Paris
Location: Paris, France Designed by: JAKOB+MACFARLANE Completion date: 2009 Photos©: Jakob+MacFarlane opted to retain the existing structure and use it to form
JAKOB+MACFARLANE Award: 2009 Mies van der Rohe Award and influence the new project. The existing structure was built in 1907 as an
industrial warehouse facility for the Port of Paris and was the first reinforced
concrete building in Paris. The three-storey structure was conceived as a series
of four pavilions, each with one 10-metre wide bay and four 7.5-metre wide
bays.
The concept of the new project is known as a “Plug-Over”. Here, the idea was
to create a new external skin that is inspired primarily by the flux of the Seine
and the promenades along the sides of the river banks. The skin both protects
the existing structure and forms a new layer containing most of the public
circulation systems and added programme, as well as creating a new top floor
to the existing building.
The new structural system supporting this skin is the result of a systematic
deformation of the existing conceptual grid of the docks building. An
arborescent generating method is used to create a new system from the
existing system, that is, “growing” the new building from the old as new
branches grow on a tree. This skin is created principally from a glass exterior
skin, steel structure, wood decking and grassed, faceted roofscape.
The “Plug-Over” operates not only as a way of exploiting the maximum building
envelope but enables a continuous public path to move up through the building
from the lowest level alongside the Seine to the roof deck and back down,
a kind of continuous loop enabling the building to become part of the urban
condition.
The programme is a rich mix centred on the themes of design and fashion,
including exhibition spaces, the French Fashion Institute (IFM), music
producers, bookshops, cafes, and a restaurant.

1. General day view from distance

2. Façade night view detail

2
 82~83

1 3

1, 2. River side terrace

2
3. Roof terrace detail
 84~85

1. Façade structure detail

3
2. Hallway inside behind the façade
3. French window brings great view of the river

1
86~87

Zhongguancun Cultural Centre

Location: Beijing, China Designed by: gmp – von Gerkan, Marg and Partners Architects Completion The development of the former “Haidian Book City” to an ultramodern cultural
date: 2006 Photos©: Christian Gahl, Ben McMillan forum lastingly gives an impression of future Beijing. In this connection the
Zhongguancun Media Tower is of particular significance due to its location on
the 4th Ring Road.
It is the overall approach to reflect the requirement of multimedia communication
in the appearance of the building and to design it extremely efficient at the same
time. In this context the form of the building accommodates complex influences
of the surroundings. For this reason the trapezoidal plan follows the historical
diagonal connection.
The public areas of the building are accessed via a mall in the north-south
direction, which offers a generous gallery space on the first six floors. By means
of deep, swung cuts in the façade pedestrians are invited to enter the building
via the northern plaza. From here they enter in the department stores and
shops placed in the ground floor and one first floor. In contrast to this public
access the internal entrance to the building opens effectively to the eastern
road with generous drop off zone. The V-shaped space orientated to the road
evokes a breathtaking and unique atmosphere, which is still increased by
light and sound installations. The employees reach the lobby on the first floor
directly via escalators. This lobby serves as an access zone to the lifts, and is
independent of the mall.
The form of the building is aligned to the requirements of modern work,
particularly in media business. The wide office areas in the eastern part are
especially suited for team work with high flexibility, while in the office areas in
the west are designed for concentrated work in separated offices. Due to the
depth of these wings of 15 metres group offices can be alternatively allocated.
Furthermore the plan permits highly efficient divisibility of the total floor areas
of maximum 9 units.
The roof level is designed as a business centre with elegant restaurants, bars,
discotheques and terraces. Due to the building height of 80 m visitors enjoy a
great panorama view over Beijing.

1. General day view

2. General night view

2
 88~89

1, 2. Atrium

2 3

1. Shop
2. Mall
3. Department store
1
4. Access office
90~91

Regional Cultural Centre

Letterkenny
Location: Letterkenny, Ireland Designed by: MacGabhann Architects Completion date: 2007 Photos©: The location of the building – set back from two main streets on the inside of a
Dennis Gilbert Construction area: 1,800 sqm Awards: Opus Between €2 Million & 20 Million Award, deep site and stuck between the An Griannan Theatre and the Leisure Centre –
OPUS Architecture & Construction Awards 2008, Shortlisted for Galvanising Awards 2009, required a special approach to its form and its façade. As it is not located on a
Architectural Association of Ireland Awards 2009 – Special Mention street edge there was a chance to create a new layer of urban structure, i.e. a
new footpath connecting the two existing roads and giving Letterkenny not only
a new building but a new patch of urban (infra) structure.
The Regional Cultural Centre is visible from different places in town. It makes
itself visible through the big cantilevered gallery box acting as a modern day
obelisk announcing the existence of something important on that slightly
hidden so far “undiscovered” plot behind the theatre. Due to its direction the
cantilever guides visitors and pedestrians approaching from the swimming pool
to the entrance of the building – or further to the Port Road.
The cantilevered box contains the most important part of the building, the Art
Gallery. This is made visible in the city through the golden wall that emerges
from within the building covering a complete side of the gallery. Facing west
it reflects the evening light and provides a golden glow on the ground at the
entrance. This 270-square metre gallery provides ample high-spec exhibition
space. Two large skylights extruding over the roof of the building and a flexible
lighting system ensure the best light conditions for different exhibition types.
The building is communicating to its surrounding in many ways. The proscenium
stage-like two-storey foyer with its fully glazed front, acts as an intermediate
space between art and public. With its back wall designed to facilitate changing
exhibitions, the contact of the passing public and the institution of art becomes
literally unavoidable, thus breaking down an often-existing invisible barrier
between the two.

1. North and west façades showing Workshop 3 and office skylight glazing
2. South façade showing entrance
3. View from 天the Port Road
4. West elevation

1 2
 92~93

1. Ramp leading to entrance

2. Gallery 3
3. View from top of sky stairs

4
5 2
3

1. Foyer
2. Theatre
3. Workshop 1
4. Workshop 2
1 5. Multimedia suite
6. Animation studio
94~95

Cultural Centre Bafile

Location: Caorle VE, Italy Designed by: Studio Macola Completion date: 2009 Photos©: Marco Zanta Since the 1930s, the former school “Bafile” has played a central role in the
Floor area: 8,600 sqm modernisation of Caorle’s suburbs. Besides providing essential services, the
school complex has shaped decisively the surrounding landscape, dictating and
orienting the pace of urban expansion over several decades.
The present restoration project is part of an overall plan intended to redesign
the town’s historical city centre. Promoted by the Caorle Council, the plan
consists of three separate spheres of architectural intervention, targeting: the
religious and monumental complex centred on the Duomo, the administrative
and managerial complex revolving around the former town hall, and the “Bafile”
area, which will now be devoted to a variety of socio-cultural activities.
The “Bafile” project is above all defined by its use of empty spaces and, most
notably, by the creation of a new pedestrian square – or “piazza” – connected
to the historical city centre. The volumes thus brought into being transformed
and supplemented the original architectural typology of the “Bafile” complex.
The project enhances the architectural role of the former school’s cylindrical
hall, which constitutes one of the termini of the town’s main pedestrian
thoroughfare and serves to delimit the southern boundaries of the new piazza.
On the opposite side, the square is demarcated by the newly built theatre and
library, which are now organic parts of the redesigned city centre.
The compact structure and brick façade of the theatre underscore its valuable
public role and unique importance in the overall economy of the project. The
façade of the library overlooking the square comprises a porch sheltering glass
wall whose transparency bring about a close, “open” relationship between
the inside and the outside of the building. The structure of the Multimedia
Centre permits it to host separate events and activities at the same time. An
elongated single hall joins its exhibition rooms, the theatre and the library.
This architectural solution enables each component of the Centre to act
independently while preserving the overall unity of the Centre itself.

1. Theatre front
2. Offices entrance
3. Kids centre

1
 96~97

2 3

1. Office exterior
2. Room
3. Staircase

1. Stage
2. Theatre of 300 seats
3. Gallery
4. Main lobby
9
14
8 12
5. Bar
1
2
8 6. Cloakroom
4 13
7 11 7. Library
10
8. Information
3 6 9. Offices entrance
15 10. Newspaper
3 11. Internet point
3
12. Offices
3
4
5
13. Kids area
14. Tickets office
15. Plaza

1
98~99

New Jiangwan Culture Centre

Location: Shanghai, China Designed by: RTKL Completion date: 2007 Photos©: RTKL Located in Shanghai, New Jiangwan Town is a model for a sustainable
community for the 21st Century. The area’s culture centre, located in a central
park, was designed to celebrate and showcase the environmental sensitivity
and community-oriented feel of the new town with 6,000 sqaure metres of
exhibition, education, performance, leisure and entertainment facilities across
two floors. The culture centre provides a fluid interaction between interior and
exterior spaces. The horizontal building is highly integrated with the landscape
and nature.
The building encourages and stimulates public access and interactions within
its dynamic spaces. Organic and inorganic material palettes contrast to
celebrate the fusion of man and the environment.

1. Façade detail
2. Entrance

2
 100~101

1. Interior ceiling detail

2. Hallway

1. Peter Jay Sharp Theatre

2. Box office
3. Piano Maintenance Tech. 4

4. Green room
5. Admissions 6
6. Paul Recital Hall 3

7. Women’s toilet
8. Men’s toilet
（没有9. Evening division 1
10. Alice Tully Hall 7
11. Bookstore
10
8

2 5 9 11
 102~103

1. Hallway
3
2. Auditorium
3. Interior wall detail

1
104~105

Rio Salado Audubon Centre

Location: Arizona, USA Designed by: Philip Weddle Completion date: 2009 Photos©: Bill Timmerman, The Rio Salado Audubon Centre is an Interpretive Centre/Nature Centre
Chris Brown Construction area: 697 sqm Awards: AIA Western Mountain Region Honour Award developed by the National Audubon Society in partnership with the City of
2010, AIA Arizona SRP Sustainable Award 2010, USGBC LEED Platinum Certification Phoenix strategically located in the multi-cultural heart of the City to provide
nature-based education to the most urban residential neighbourhoods.
The Audubon Centre is designed to choreograph the visitor’s experience by
sequencing and framing views. The visitor enters the Centre by passing through
a mesquite bosque to an entry court. Canted weathered steel walls create a
canyon like passage leading to the entry. From there visitor’s views open north
to the wetland, the river corridor and the city’s skyline beyond. Sliding glass
doors pocket to open the space to the view terrace creating a true indoor/
outdoor space.
The long, low east-west orientation reduces heat gain. The building shuts
itself off to the hot southern sun while opening to the northern light and
views. Thoughtful window placement and sizing provides over 85% of the
building’s regularly occupied spaces with enough daylight that artificial light
is unnecessary for most daily tasks. 100% of all regularly occupied spaces
have visual connection to the outdoors: the entry courtyard, the hummingbird
garden, and/or the wetland.
The centre includes an interactive nature conservancy exhibition as well as
a multi-purpose learning centre for community use. The exhibition space
introduces several of the on-site interpretive trails to best provide opportunities
for self-directed learning and exploration. The project includes an integrated
20 Kilowatt photovoltaic solar system that generates approximately 50% of the
energy needed for the Centre’s operation. Waste water is treated through an
innovative on-site treatment system allowing for all treated water to be utilised
on-site for landscape irrigation. The Audubon Centre received USGBC LEED
Platinum certification due in large part to the sustainable systems integrated
into the project.

1. View of looking over wetland back at the Centre © Bill Timmerman

2. View of looking down view-terrace © Bill Timmerman

2
 106~107

1 3

1. View of the Library/Meeting Room – north façade © Bill Timmerman 1. Entry court
2
2. View over wetland out at the Library / Meeting Room © Chris Brown 2. Entry
3. Entry © Bill Timmerman 3. Reception
4. Exhibition
5. Multi-purpose room
6. Catering kitchen
7. Restroom
8. Work
9. Open office
10. Break room 12
11. Office
12. Meeting/library
13. View terrace 13

7 10 7
7 7
9
4 5
3
11 8 7

1
 108~109

1 2

1. Exhibition space
2. Lecture hall
110~111

Norveg Coast Cultural Centre

Location: Rørvik, Norway Designed by: Gudmundur Jonsson Arkitektkontor Completion date: 2004 Norveg is situated in the Community Rørvik, which has long tradition for fishery,
Construction area: 1,730 sqm Photos©: Thomas Mayer, Erco Leuchten and represents the utmost of the Norwegian coastal culture through ages.
Today there is a boat-building industry carrying on the tradition, but in a modern
way. Being situated by the coast, Norveg represents in one way a challenge
bringing visitors to the place, ensuring economic stability in the organisation of
the centre. Therefore the Architect stated, that a building of significance was
needed to ensure attention to this community.
The architect “visited” the ancient times of fishery and used the culture for
inspiration in creating the idea. Thus the idea is based on the image of 3 sails,
which lean against a modern vessel, such uniting the sailing-boat tradition and
the modern ships. The building becomes an evolution of a coast-cultural history
visualised in architecture. The building even consists of an after-deck or a hind
part to complete the interpretation of the ship-in heritage.
The building occupies 1,730 square metres. The organisation follows the
architectural elements. The main central vessel or hull as the spine of the
building houses the administration, kitchen and technical plants. The sails
cover the foyer, restaurant and temporary exhibition. The big rock on the
other side symbolising the shore that the ship is docking to, containing the
multimedia and concert/auditorium space. At last the after-deck containing the
coast-cultural exhibition is also designed by the same architect.
The height between the floor and the sails is just 140 centimetres, and this
is due to the interpretation of the sailboats that have the sail boom low, and
people have to bend to cross sails. In this particular case, this is also due to
the reason that the architect wants people to stop, calm down and have a seat
to enjoy the view to the ocean, in such way people hardly sea the see unless
sitting down. The visitor is captured in the vessel, and has to experience it from
the inside as well.

1. General day view

2. Side view of façade at night

2
 112~113

1 2

1. View of front façade

2. Main entrance at winter night
 114~115

1. Lobby café
2. Café detail

6
2 3
1. C-stage
7 2. Recliner Warehouse
3. Temporary exhibition
4 4. Café and lounge area
5. Wooden pier/dock
6. Toilets
7. Permanent exhibition
1
8. Showcase
116~117

Maritime Centre Vellamo

Location: Kotka, Finland Designed by: Architects Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Completion date: 2008 Kotka’s Maritime Centre Vellamo is the beacon of the cityscape. The figure
Photos©: Jussi Tiainen Floor area: 14,601 sqm guides travellers from the city into a harbour of culture. The Old Harbour will
soon be transformed into a Culture Harbour. As the first building completed the
Maritime Centre will be the functional cornerstone of the area.
References to the sea incorporated in the building’s distinctive architecture link
the Maritime Centre to the sea and also to the features of the Kymenlaakso
region. The abstract image of a large wave creates a physical representation
of the sea. Situated at the end of the planned culture harbour, the roof of the
Maritime Centre forms a square, which will play host to a wide array of different
events.
The interior of the Maritime Centre is characterised by the application of
timeless architectural concepts. The entrance, the foyer and the elevated,
centrally located exhibition hall give the interior of the Maritime Centre its
distinctive character; together they form a spatial entity fashioned from free-
shaped wall faces, a material world dominated by oak-wood surfaces and the
expanding nature of the surrounding space.
The Maritime Centre is home to two permanent residents: the Maritime
Museum of Finland and the Museum of Kymenlaakso. There are also a
museum shop, a restaurant, a library, seminar and teaching rooms and a 250-
seat auditorium.
The elevated exhibition space housing the permanent collection, plays a key
role. The exhibition rooms have been designed to make them as adaptable
as possible. The clearly defined shapes and proportions of these rooms, the
neutral grey colouring specified on all surfaces and fittings make them suitable
for housing a whole host of different museum exhibitions.
The Maritime Centre is primarily built around a column and beam system of
reinforced concrete girders. The floors consists largely of structural hollow-core
slabs, while the walkway on the roof is designed as an inverted structure. The
outer walls are constructed using a lightweight skeleton structure. Sheet-metal
cassettes, painted in a variety of different shades, are the primary building
material on the exterior of the building, to which a lattice made of aluminium
and pressed-silk glass has been affixed.

1. View of front façade

2. Side view

2
 118~119

2 3

1. Side view of façade

2. Entry lobby
3. Hallway

1
3

1. Exhibition
2. Hall
3. Hall
1 4. Room
 120~121

1. Exhibition space
2. Hall

1
122~123

Library and Media Centre for the

University of Guadalajara
Location: Jalisco, México. Designed by: Heriberto Hernández Ochoa, Raúl Juárez Perezlete, Jorge This building is a pioneer in the implementation of standardised norms for
Hernández Luquín Completion date: 2007 Photos©: Heriberto Hernández Ochoa Area: 5,346 sqm accessibility for people with disabilities; it has a set of ramps and aisles
specially designed to make it 100% accessible. It will have a collection of
120,000 books, DVDs, and videos in a total surface of 5,346 square metre,
making it the biggest public library in the western region of Mexico, and the
second one after the recently opened Central Library Jose Vasconcelos in
Mexico.
It was impossible for them to design a library and media centre at the beginning
of the 21st century as these typologies have been designed for the past 20 or
30 years, the architects felt the urge to make a statement about a time that,
perhaps, was about to change. The process in itself involved a series of playful
strategies in order to let the authorship of the process aside, the architects
wanted randomness in the process, the architects desired to lay some rules
and let the whole thing play itself.
The building is designed as three elements that intersect: at the point of
intersection are the main lobby, front desk and informal reading areas. One
of the elements is a concrete volume that protects the whole collection of the
library. From the outside this concrete box is completely closed and without any
openings. At the main lobby the concrete dematerialises into a steel structure
that shows the stacks of books.
The user is confronted to this wall of books as it enters the main space of the
library. The other two elements that intersect at the lobby are the reading areas,
which are built in red brick, and the media centre is clad in metal. The different
materials or these elements make it clear to the user that there are different
programmes inside, and that each element has a distinctive programme: the
reading areas are in the red brick element, the media centre in the metal clad
volume and the books in the concrete box.

1. Ramps volume detail

2. Main entrance from the east
3. Main façade from plaza
4. Ramps volume

1 2
 124~125

18
16
18 8 16 5
7 5 2
12 3
14 9
11 8 5
13 5 5 4 8
10 1 1
18 5
5
7 1 3
4 2
15 17 9 3 4
5 6 3 1
5 6 6
8 2
1
8
18 5

18

1. Plaza 10. Snack area 1. Book shelves 1. Languages area

2. Entrance 11. Reading plaza 2. Reading area 2. Video conference area
3. Main lobby 12. Toilets 3. Cubicles 3. Media classroom
4. Front desk 13. Administration 4. Individual cubicles 4. Hanging corridors
5. Book shelves 14. Kitchen 5. Ramps and stairs 5. Ramps and stairs
6. Casual reading area 15. Copy centre 6. Hanging corridors
7. Reading area 16. Service 7. Multi-media centre
8. Ramps and stairs 17. Lockers 8. Administration
9. Cubicles 18. Green areas 9. Toilets 2

1. Mediateque volume
2. Main lobby viewed from mediatheque
 126~127

1 3

1. Wall of books and reading area viewed from hanging corridor

2 4
2. Interior patio
3. Ramps
4. Bridge connecting the book shelves wall to a reading area
128~129

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Centre

Location: Berlin, Germany Designed by: Max Dudler (Andreas Enge, Jochen Soydan, Andrea Deckert, The new Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Centre is the largest open-shelving
Gesine Gummi) Completion date: 2009 Photos©: Stefan Mueller Construction area: usable service library in Germany and also contains the university computer centre, library
area 21,850 sqm, total surface area 37,460 sqm Award: Nominated, Mies Van Der Rohe Award 2011 administration as well as classrooms and meeting areas.
Despite the great depth of the building and the density of its interior
furnishings, the library possesses a surprising porousness and openness. The
source of this lies in the consistency of heights and widths throughout the
building, born out in both the architecture and the furnishings. From almost any
point within the building, patrons can see out of, or rather through, the building.
To accommodate the desire for simple orientation, the interior of the building
was organised symmetrically around a central axis. Through this symmetry,
the reading room obtains a counterpart. For the purpose of its construction,
architectural techniques were used to design a room of books and their
readers, a room whose identity is tied to the significance of past libraries. As a
complement to the introverted, central reading room, flexible and expandable
reading islands have been arranged along the library façade.
The façade subtly reveal the function of the building behind them through
varying openings in the stone body of the structure. The distances between the
pilasters in the façade, which are determined by the ground plan and vary by as
much as 1.5 metres (and can also be understood as the spines of books), have
an internal connection with the functions of the open stacks and reading areas.
The façade was erected using yellow-veined Treuchtlingen marble which makes
a strong impression through its natural stone structure, emphasized by a
high-pressure water treatment. In the interior decor, calmness and clarity are
achieved by reducing the colour palette to just a few tones: white-gray, black-
gray, reddish wood (black cherry), dark red and dark green surfaces. The open
stacks have been built using glossy black linoleum floors, matte black-grey
steel shelves and walls and ceilings painted white.

1. View from Japanese Commercial Centre

2. View from southeast

2
 130~131

1. Courtyard
2. Main entrance
17
3. Foyer
4. Side door
16 5. Cafeteria
12
13 14 13 11 6. Information terminal
7. Information desk
15
10 8. Return
9 9
9. Lending services
10. Self-issue machine
4 5
7 8
6
11. Information department
3 4
12. Lounge
2
13. Search
14. Reading room
1 15. Auditory
16. Administration
17. Print shop
18. Periodicals reading area
19. Workstation
20. PC training
24 24 22 23
21. PC Pool
24
23 22. Video conference
23. Multimedia
16 22
14 24. Copy service
19 13 13 19 21

20
20
18
2

1. Reading terrace with view in the open access area

2, 3. Central Reading Room (with reading terraces)
4. Carrel with view of the reading room
 132~133

1. Reading terrace with view in the open access area

2, 3. Central Reading Room (with reading terraces)
4. Carrel details
134~135

Ann Arbor District Library –

Traverwood Branch
Location: Ann Arbor, USA Designed by: inFORM Studio Completion Date: 2008 Photos©: inFORM In 2005, the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) purchased approximately 4 acres
Studio Area: 1,542 sqm of property for a new branch library to serve the Northeast quadrant of the city
of Ann Arbor. This was to be the third branch library constructed by the current
administration since 2002 and would replace a 371.6 square metres branch
library within an existing strip mall located along a nearby commercial corridor.
The site, heavily wooded and densely vegetated, is located on the Southwest
corner of Huron Parkway and Traverwood Drive.
During the early stages of the site planning process, the architect collectively
began to discuss and investigate considerations for harvesting wood from the
site for re-use in the building. Although densely populated, many of the trees
were Ash, suffering the effects of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). Preliminary
research showed that this particular tree species is especially well-suited to
milling, as the insect does not damage the interior portion of the wood. With so
much value found in a close, abundant, natural resource, unique uses of the
wood in the floors, walls, ceiling and structure of the new branch library were
proposed and considered.
The utilisation of the Ash would become a major component to the design
of the library interior. Integrated as an interior wrapper, the Ash flows from
the main entrance floor and walls into a ceiling condition stretching along
the entire Eastern interior edge of the building and culminating in an Ash
wrapped reading rooms whose primary views are focused westward into the
forest. Additionally, large sections of the logs were used as structural columns,
accommodating vertical and lateral loading along the large southwest expanse
of glass. The bark has been stripped from these log columns exposing the
randomised grooves and carvings left by the EAB larvae – creating, what is in
essences, a visual and tactile testament to the life and destruction of the Ash
tree in Michigan and surrounding area, allowing generations to be exposed to
an autopsy report of an extinct species in the region.

1. Façade detail
2. General view of façade from the street
3. Main entrance

1 2

3
 136~137

1 2

1. Entrance to the library interior

3
2. Lounge
3. Hallway with resting/meeting area

1. Entrance
2. Library room
3. Lecture hall
4. Toilets
5. Café/lounge