Library

The Springvale Community Hub is a flagship project for the City of Greater Dandenong, incorporating a large library, civic spaces, and council offices set amongst a playful, public parkland. It acts as a mirror to the community of Springvale—one of the most culturally diverse communities in Australia—and reflects the unique identities of its residents and the urban context it resides in. The Hub embodies the importance of representation and connection and is intended to foster a sense of civic ownership—intertwining cultural narratives of the area into the fabric of the building. The result is a coalescence of diverse public spaces that encourage interaction and community connection. The building wraps around three ancient and significant River Red Gums, connecting with landscape and creating a focal point for the building.

The task of the Patrimonial and Universal Library is the housing and protection of Cultural and Intellectual Texts – a foundation stone of the intellectual community. For the BnL a compact, energy-efficient building volume houses a wide range of functional entities. A transparent imposing, but at the same time inviting, facade fronts onto the Avenue John F. Kennedy. Internal functions unfold sequentially from this entrance gesture; Foyer +, Café (with upper-level Conference + seminar rooms), next to the Reading Room – a landscape of terraced workstations and bookshelves.

Located on the Sharjah International Airport Road, ten kilometres from the city centre, the two-storey building embodies a sense of clarity and lightness, with a large floating roof cantilevering on all sides of a transparent rectilinear volume. The 15-metre-wide overhang shades the façades throughout most of the day, while fixed aluminium screens with differing densities filter the low sun in the evenings. Movable bamboo screens at a low level are deployed by the building users, to provide privacy or to control glare. When not in use the bamboo screens are left open, preserving the visual connections with the landscaped gardens.

The Woods Bagot London Studio has put the finishing touches on a beautiful new library at the heart of the St Mary’s Calne School campus in Wiltshire, UK. The library will act as a hub of inspiration and learning, with a striking design that incorporates the adjacent apple orchard and surrounding century-old buildings.

The oldest city in Taiwan, Tainan has a rich history influenced by different cultures. There are remnants of maritime trade with Europe in the 17^th century, of the Chinese Ming Dynasty, and Japanese settlements from the beginning of the 20^th century. The city is rich in temples, including the famous 17^th century Confucius Temple with its cantilevered roofs and beautifully carved ceilings. The new library takes from this history, is inspired by the local culture, and has been designed for the tropical climate of Tainan. It is home to the city’s cultural heritage, modern art, music, films, and over a million books, including more than 16,000 from the Japanese occupation period, and of course, is equipped with the latest technologies of a modern library.

Open the castle town.