Copenhagen Modern Library | SELIM SENIN

The main specialty of Danish culture is HYGGE. To reflect this cultural specialty on the project, spaces where people can spend time together, talk to each other, enjoy the scenery, make sportive activities, make presentations, and watch movies at night, etc. have been adopted. Three different routes have been planned to reach the terraces on which people can socialize. Our proposal is not merely a library to enter but a platform on which urban life keeps continuing thus a building which integrates with the city. As a response to classical repellant cognition of libraries, the building has a potential which can form an urban focus and where people would like to enjoy their day and night.

The building area was aligned to the adjacent building on the facades that face road and sea. One can enter the building via two different entrances on the sea side and the road side. At the entrance floor, information, café, bookstore, kids’ play area and lavatories take place. On the side of the adjacent building, stairs and elevators serve users to lead them to the higher floors. Multimedia area was designed as a single space on the first floor. Because building envelope has been selected as mesh surfaces, natural light illuminates the interior homogenously from all the directions.

At the last floor, conference hall stretches out above the terrace, and turns into an eave over it. With its ramps outside and conference hall as a cantilever a new symbol which is hoped to add value to the city has been formed in a central place of Copenhagen. The plot which is currently empty is borrowed from the city and given back to it thanks to the terraces over the building. Citizens and tourists who like to take walk in this seaside area can keep on their walks over the building. All in all in addition to their very defined function inside, libraries can act as urban focal points outside of where people can come together and learn from each other.