Library Buildings around the World

Cultural Centre, Don Benito – Spain 1991 – 1997
Literature:
Penny McGuire, in: Architectural Review 01.April 1999
Inner light - design of cultural center in Badajoz, Spain by Penny McGuire
Design of a cultural centre in a south-western province of Estremadura draws on memory and at the same time provides nurture for
the future. Rafael Moneo's cultural centre in Don Benito, Badajoz, built on a conspicuous site within the town, is a rich contribution
to the fabric and spirit of the place. Like previous works by this architect, the building asserts a very particular presence. Moneo's
sensitive interpretation of the brief, his supple appreciation of history and place, characteristically produces complex responses - but
couched in the language of restraint their complexity and sophistication tends to be masked. You can see it here. The exterior of this
plainly detailed building may seem inscrutable at first glance, but a second one will reveal memories of local details, the aptness of
scale and of the way it turns the corner, and so on. The poetry infusing design of the interior derives from Moneo's handling of light
and materials. The site on the north-east corner of the Plaza de Espana was once that of the town hall and marks the intersection of
Groisard and Villanueva streets. Moneo's centre which has an undeniably civic presence completes the square, addressing it (rather
than the streets either side) with a corner tower under which is the main entrance. Across Villanueva street is the Colegiata church
and like ships at sea these two buildings exchange signals. The restrained exterior of the old, the antique flourishes, the texture of old
masonry, are answered by an equal restraint, roof lanterns and the fine etching over a white exterior of brick courses beneath.
The white austerity of the centre's exterior gives little clue to the intricacy and richness within. Considering the brief which asked for
a large lecture theatre, a library, museum, and a number of other provisions, the site was not particularly large and Moneo's dense
compact architecture with its overlapping interior volumes fills it to the edges. Looked at on plan, the building clearly has a main
core that is aligned with Villanueva street and contains the centre's main spaces. At its heart on the ground and first floors is the
theatre seating 252 people; above it is the library and over that the museum. Around the core is arranged a series of ancillary rooms
- galleries for exhibitions, archives, classrooms, offices and lavatories. Moneo's means of bringing light into the building centre is a
source of enormous pleasure. Ten of the 18 glass lanterns which rise above the shallow roof illuminate the museum galleries. Light
from the remaining ones is conducted down to the library and archives through big white tubes. Appearing as columns in the
museum, they carry light into the archives, but in the library they terminate in the centre of false shallow vaults. The plywood from
which these are formed gives these constructions a delicate aeronautical quality. Light diffused across their curving surfaces sheds a
soft gold luminance over a wooden floor and handsome furniture, making the room the most agreeable of libraries. In the pleasingly
proportioned theatre, the soft tones of the wood lining floors and walls are combined with rich red seating and ceiling. Elsewhere, for
instance in the museum galleries, Moneo has simply allowed light to wash over white walls and accentuate volumetric modelling, and
has used polished stone for the floors. (http://www.findarticles.com)
Columbia University Northwest Corner Building, New York – USA 2011
with colaboration : Davis Brody Bond Aedas (http://www.aedas.com), and Moneo Brock
The design for the new science building at 120th St and Broadway has its origins in the historic Morningside Heights campus
plan designed by McKim, Mead and White for Columbia University in 1897. The architects determined very early on that
the new building should respect the McKim Meade & White plan; that it would measure just sixty-five feet in width, and
would retain the same separation from its neighbors as indicated in that plan. Because of the construction of the
Manhattanville Campus to the north, the new building was able to provide a much-needed gateway to the old campus for
pedestrian traffic to and from the new campus to the north.
Arenberg Campus Library, Catholic University of Leuven – Belgium 1997 – 2002
In 1997 the remains of the Celestine Convent were floating like a ship adrift between the roads and highways connecting the
city of Leuven with its surroundings. The unmasted ship, once a living monastery, appeared to have lost its way, making it
difficult to understand the meaning of the ruined cloister. With the disappearance of the church, three sides of the cloister
remained. Brick prevailed, as did the pitched, slate roof. From the beginning the goal was to maintain the scale and the
character of the place and make the tiny cloister the core of the new library. The design strategy relied on erecting a new
building – not high, not mimetic – that would enclose the cloister. The organic geometry of this construction invigorates and
animates the severe cloister and provides an unexpected space, a new courtyard, flanked by the restored dependencies of the
monastery. The extension of the building mass containing the open stacks in the basement and the ground floor levels defines
a new perimeter along the De Croylaan Road, anchoring the Celestine Convent once again to the road network. As a result
of this strategy the existing volumes maintain their value and the rooftop of the old refectory continues to be the most
striking element. The old monastery is a building rescued, one that has been newly integrated in the life of the city and of the
University. The new Library reminds us that our present is written on the past, something always manifestly present in a
city like Leuven and in a University that is one of the oldest in Europe.
(http://gsd.harvard.edu/people/faculty/moneo/projects.html#moneo)
Mora-Sanvisens Arquitectes Associats, Barcelona – Spain
Gabriel Moro, Carmina Sanvisens
http://www.morasanvisens.com
Libraries:
Biblioteca Municipal – Esteve Paluzie - de Barberà, Barberà de Vallès – Spain 2009
La geometría del emplazamiento y su posición urbana en el entorno de un espacio libre de uso público, condicionan la volumetría de
este edificio destinado a biblioteca pública, transformándose en un volumen sólido al que se le provocan diferentes vaciados, cuya
inteligente estrategia permite caracterizar el proyecto. (http://www.bauenblog.info)
MX_SI Architectural Studio, Barcelona – Spain
Boris Bezan, Mónica Juvera
http://www.mx-si.net
Libraries:
Biblioteca Vilanova del Vallès – Spain 2011
Competition 1st. prize, 2007, Client: Ajuntament de Vilanova del Vallès, Budget: EUR 1.800.900,00, Area: 1.150 m2
Construction first phase finished spring 2011, Architect: Boris Bezan + Monica Juvera
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