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Historically, library was a private building dedicated to an individual, monastery or college. Today, the library is electonic and virtual- a building which loosely and casually contains the diverse tentacles of knowledge. Now knowledge is virtually everywhere; it has broken free of the constraint of buildings. If a library is repository of knowledge, this is now just one of its functions. The library's prime function is now making that knowledge available and encouraging exchange and reflection upon it.

The more the library diffuses under the influence of the computer, the more important become the architectural anchors of the building type. Important as the electronic screens of the library have become, there is no denying the social function of the library to a sense of identity, community and nationahood.

NZ suburban libraries have struggled to operate its contemporary function; the idea that a library is more than a repository of books and computers.

This thesis will examine the possibilities for suburban libraries, as social symbol that as a centre of community interaction and as a place to celebrate learning. I will develop the possibilities in architecture which is simultaneously alone and part of a community and investigate the possibilities in space for permanent and temporary collections everyday(as a market places for ideas).

The will be an emphasis on connection between athenaeum and library and a new form of library associated with social interaction.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Koolhaas's Seattle Public library

















"The stacks, arranged along a continuous spiral ramp contained within a four-story slab, reinforce a sense of a world organised with machine-like precision"

New Seattle Public Library houses the library's main collection of books, government publications, periodicals, audio visual materials and the technology to access and distribute information from the physical collection online.

The building is divided into eight horizontal layers, each varying in size to fit its function. A structural steel and glass skin unifies the multifaceted form and defines the public space in-between.

Koolhaas sees the new library as a custodian of the books, a showcase for new information, a place for thought, discussion and reflection- a dynamic presence.

"The fact that the contents of a whole library can be stored on a single chip, or the fact that a single library can now store the digital content of all libraries, together represent potential rethinking: new form of storage enable the space dedicated to real books to be contained; new forms of reading enhance the aura of the real book.
Our first operation has been the "combining" and consolidation of the apparently ungovernable proliferation of programs and media. By combining like with like, we have identified five platforms, each a programmatic cluster that is architecturally defined and equipped for maximum, dedicated performance. Because each platform is designed for a unique purpose, they are different in size, density, opacity.
The in-between space are like trading floors where librarians inform and stimulate, where the interface between the different platforms is organised- spaces for work, interaction, and play(and reading)"
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