Library Buildings around the World

http://www.bosch-fjord.com
Libraries:
Hørring Central Library, Hørring – Denmark 2008
Bosch & Fjord’s vision for a future library has become a reality in the new shopping mall in Hjørring, the Metropole, designed by
schmidt hammer lassen. Focusing on the library’s role in society, Bosch & Fjord have created a forward-looking setting for the
modern library’s communication and organisation of material and knowledge. In close cooperation with the library’s employees and
management, Bosch & Fjord have developed a new platform for communication and experiences that turns the library into a multifunctional
experience and knowledge centre. In line with the changes in society, the role of the library has changed. Today and in the
future, people will visit the library in order to get experiences and stimulate their need for learning. In light of this, it was important
to focus on the new social role of the library and make the library into a sort of meeting place that encour¬ages engagement as well
as active participation and development. The heart and pivotal point of the new library is a physical communication structure that
twists and winds its way through the library, breaking through walls, floors and bookcases. Sometimes a counter, sometimes a table,
sometimes a section of shelves, the structure points, guides and tempts the visitors to explore the library area. The band works as a
decoration and an active communication tool for the library staff. The same is the case with the bubble wall, which has large holes
for exhibiting and presenting reviews, and the poet’s staircase, at the top of which the listener is confronted with a giant mouth
reciting poems. In developing Hjørring Central Library, it was essential to create an emotional connection between the children’s
area and the general section of the library. This focus has resulted in a deliberate youth¬fulness in the library and a sliding and
balanced transition between offers for children, youth and adults. The library has stops for every taste and all generations – shared
as well as separate. Hjørring Central Library is a new kind of library. It is a place that meets all visitors’ needs for inspiration,
experiences and personal development. (Bosch-Fjord)
Gladsaxe Main Library – Denmark 2008
Previously, a library was a retrospectively oriented institution based on the storage of printed media. It was a place for collecting and
lending out books. The future library has to be a forward-looking institution that challenges and provides library users with both
experiences and knowledge. In collaboration with Gladsaxe Main Library, Bosch & Fjord have developed a master plan and design
manual to ensure consistency in experiences and communication for users of all ages. The first step in the realisation of the plan is a
refurbishment of the library’s entrance and information areas. The entrance section was pointed out as a particularly important
area, since this is where visitors and users get their first and most important impression of the library. Here, the interior should
make visitors feel welcomed and seduce them into exploring the rest of the library. The visitor is encouraged to step closer by the
open and well-lit space with its green floor and red, organically shaped information desk. The green floor spreads across the
entrance area in stark contrast to the red walls of the room. The colour green signals activity and progress – and these are exactly
the values that characterise the new entrance area, where the library’s drop-off and check-out functions are located. The organically
shaped red information desk wraps around one of the corners like a giant tongue. The colour and shape draw the visitors closer. The
bookcases are painted white, with the respective category written in big black letters on the side. Light boxes have been installed
above entrances and interior doors. With the realisation of this new entrance area, Gladsaxe Main Library has taken a big step
forward toward its goal of being at the forefront. The main library is inherently a pioneering example for the local libraries. Thus,
the refurbishment is designed to let the main library continue to evolve and draw inspiration from the local library’s specialised
knowledge. (Bosch-Fjord)
COBE ApS, Copenhagen – Denmark
http://www.cobe.dk
Libraries:
Copenhagen Culture House and Library, Copenhagen – Denmark 2011
The Library
Location: Copenhagen NW, Denmark Client: City of Copenhagen Program: Extension of existing culture house and new library and
concert hall Size: existing 1.150 m2, new building 2.000 m2 Status: 1st prize in competition in 2009, completed in 2011 Collaborators:
TRANSFORM, Wessberg, Schönherr, Bdr. A&B Andersen
Nordvest (Northwest) is an area in Copenhagen located between the lively and diverse urban neighborhood of Nørrebro and the villa
neighborhoods at the edge of the city. Many people live and work in this multiethnic area. Yet, since the area is located in the vicinity
to numerous entry roads, most Copenhageners only use Nordvest as passage when going in and out of the city by car. The new
Culture House and Library will help improve the identity of the area. It is designed to create a landmark and to provide a meeting
point for the local community.
The new culture house consists of four clearly defined programs: a children’s library, a youth library, a library for adults and a
concert hall. These four functions are stacked on top of each other like a series of golden “books”. Each "book" is a world of its own
with individual interiors and furnishment. The spaces between the books are open zones for flexible use. This gives a varied
coherence between open and closed spaces. The open spaces are marked by the immediate context and the closed areas as completely
choreographed places.
The building has two entrances. One from the north and one from the south, making the foyer and zone between the existing
building and the extension act as an urban passage for the neighborhood.
As a main gesture, the concert hall is placed at the top of the building. A powerful object that seems to defy the laws of gravity, the
position of the hall encourage people to move across the building towards the magnificent view over Copenhagen. (COBE)
Cornelius + Vöge, Atelier for Arkitektur, Roskilde – Denmark
http://www.corneliusvoge.dk
Libraries:
North Atlantic House, Odense – Denmark 2013
A design consisting of three houses on pillars in a landscape of stairs, shelves and terraces is the winning proposal for a future
culture house on the harbour of Odense in Denmark. The building is set to open in 2013.
Young Danish architects CORNELIUS + VÖGE and ISAGER architects together with contractor Hans Jørgensen og Søn, Grontmij
and Masu Planning, have been selected winners of the cultural building House of The North Atlantic. The Building will represent
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