Stockholm public library | Davide Maggioni

A new Stockholm library profile Stockholm / Sweden / 2006

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Project basic choices and targets

The project target is to settle an organism that is coherent with respect to the integration of the urban and architectural space, the organization of the rich functional program and the formal relationship between the existing buildings and the designed ones.

The paths

The existing urban road network is integrated with a pedestrian axis that is parallel to the Odengatan and placed at the hill base. The aim of this pedestrian axis is to organically connect the east zone (Sveavagen and park), the library service buildings and spaces and the west area of future commercial development. This axis is also an underground connection to the transport infrastructures. The connection to the nord side of the hill is solved by new slope ways integrated with the new service buildings and the tower.

The buildings

The proposed architecture intends to express the rich program by establishing new and significant phisical-visual connections and by the use of an essential architectural language that draws on and interprets some elements present in the context. The structure geometry confirms the lines of the existing buildings and streets. The new building volumes have simple and repeated profiles, harmonius frontages with few and clean openings,neutral glass walls connecting the buildings. Low building heights take up the existing buildings. The tower verticalises the relation with the hill and it balances the presence of the high Folksam and Diligentia buildings.

The hill

The wide urban area used after park on the Sveavagen, maintains the general planning but it's redefined in some elements. The area in front of the south forehead of the Asplund's building, admitting the new way coming from west, is reorganized through a system of slopes and seats and represents the extension of the building to the open. The lower hill slope is softly modelled like an anphitheatre with seats turned to the water basin and the Sveavagen. The upper slope is crossed, along all the east side, by the new path going from the top of the belvedere to the tower entrance in quota. The upper slope continues and receives the stair coming from the Odengatan and goes down with light slope until the external slanted ramps of the Economy Institute. The tree dotting defines the designed area and invites to look at the west, to the new buildings.

The east-west path

The east-west walkway at the altitude of +16.5/18.0, connects different spaces and urban functions. Walking up to the library through the little square at the main entrance and going along the wide portico in the west direction, one meets the restaurant, the terrace spaces for the happenings and the bar overlooking the covered little square. From here, a staircase goes down to the hipogeum entrance of the upper library and continues towards the infrastructure area and to the future commercial spaces.

The library upper entrance

On the Odengatan, the heads of the "annexes" dating from the 1930 frame the library upper entrance. The new glass front, interposed between the annexes but slightly drawn back, shows in tranparence the extension of the urban space represented by
the reading room obtained between the two buildings.

The upper reading room

The space to all height, the longitudinal fronts showing themselves on the open space with the new balconies for the reading, the connecting bridge and the hanging bookshelves, all this stages some tipical elements of a reading room in a strongly characterized interior.

The library main entrance

The main entrance to the library has been thought and situated as a junction of functional connection between the Asplund's building and the new building. The urban space in front of the entrance presents the stair going up to the upper way and to the hill. The glass walls of the ground floor of the library render alive this space.

The path along the Odengatan

The Odengatan walkway is characterised by the deep excavation of the flight of steps inviting to the main entrance placed below. Its edge follows and highlights the unusual orientation of the Asplund's building, bending the sidewalk as a wide inclined plane connecting to the lower soil.

The outdoor cavea

A little reading and outdoor meeting cavea provides the space where the library flight of steps at the tower base can extende. It ends, at the top, into a measured hanging garden joined together with the hill slope.

The connection with the existing library

From the round room, along the main east-west axis, one arrives at the west room, now transformed into a space that conjugates the functions of reading room, meeting room and also of view from the new bow window to the new library. The descending stair to the library is inserted in a skylight passage and is zenithally illuminated. Its configuration and dimensions want to underline this area as a place of connection. The arrival, at quota +13 is opened on the glass room on the square and it realizes an organic spatial continuity on the main entrance.

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    Project basic choices and targets The project target is to settle an organism that is coherent with respect to the integration of the urban and architectural space, the organization of the rich functional program and the formal relationship between the existing buildings and the designed ones. The paths The existing urban road network is integrated with a pedestrian axis that is parallel to the Odengatan and placed at the hill base. The aim of this pedestrian axis is to organically connect the...

    Project details
    • Year 2006
    • Status Competition works
    • Type Libraries
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    Lovers 2 users