Zahy's Library

My intention with the library is to create a relationship between the individual and the architectural spaces. After some experiment with open end corridors and transparency I finally settled on openness. Openness, because discovery opens the individual to knowledge, the library is the place where this kind of activity takes place. A person using the library facilities is open to knowledge and enlightenment, so this became my main focus to translate into architectural form. I established this by having an open space, a kind of miniature courtyard on the upper level. My first study consisted of a square, with planes opening up to one another. However I later on developed my design into something more asymmetrical by working with a deformed rectangle. The end result produced a form I was happy with and then I was left with the positioning of the functions in a comfortable and logical manner.

Jounieh Public Library - Nadine Bou Kheir

As the things on the street happened as I watched people go by, buildings merge together with a simple, historic spirit, and as the I gased over the remaining entrance intact after the invasion of bulks of concrete, the geometry came through.

The geometry consists of horizontal and vertical boxes bleeding into one another. The entrance is the heart of each and every old house on the main street that is why it is accentuated in the new library. Also, for more space during the summer exhibitions, I recessed the lower level to make room for outdoor space, differentiating the upper level from the lower one floating over.

Entrance and Cantilever

The circulation is articulated to the facade without it revealing its function to the outside. the reading area is pushed higher than the structure and creates a floating box. To allow for this floating area, the courtyard on the second floor of the original structure is maintained.

Courtyard and Floating Box

On the Inside the structure is divided into 4 floor, three of which share the two boxes on the land, allowing for a variety of voids and a different plan for each floor. I started by a spacious, double height lobby behind which stands the cafe which opens to a reading area for newspapers and magasines. The first floor is a children's area amidst the outdoor space, computer area, and adult waiting/reading area. The second floor is the auditiorium and administration also opening to the outdoor space. The last floor is the floating cube that allows for a corridor flushed with books reaching a reading area only open to the sea.

The openings benefit from the void to enlighten more than one floor. We can also notice the decrease in crowdiness and noise as we move into the library and go higher. I tried to incorporate reading into every floor making the library rotate mainly around silence, awareness of the surrounded by the senses, and most importantly unique, reading experiences. The landscape is in harmony with the simplistic spirit of the library allowing for cubes of 50x50 cm of slightly varieting heights(20-40 cm) distiributed far from each others on the shore.

One of the Study Models

Lulu's Library

Final Model:






Concept:

When it came to thinking about my concept i thought of the main thing that we do in a library which is reading. So i thought that whenever we are reading, information is getting into our brain to then create a certain outcome that can be : memory, conclusion, opinion....

So when i came to translate this idea into form, i thought of collision of two main volumes that lead to the extrusion of minor volumes.

Therefore, i have the main volume (brain) where another volume (information) cuts through it leading to the extrusion of other minor volumes.

So the volume that seems cutting through the main volume stands out whenever you are approaching the building, thats why i decided to make it consist of the main function of the library which is the reading areas and book stacks.

Trial Models:

Model that developed and Process:

Midterm :

Aziz's Library Design

My original intention of a library design was to uninterrupt the visual contact between the visitors and other activities around them. I also wanted this visual relationship to continue to the street level and passers by aswell. Of course the solution to this should not become uncomfortable and distracting for readers and researchers using the facilities.

the Driving Concept

After some thought and research. One idea stood above the rest. The idea of the library being a place to harvest knowledge, taking the word "harvest" into its literal sense I linked it to terraces, because thats where the harvest takes place in mountainous settings. These terraces would become the reading spaces and would hold the stacks along their walls. And this idea was and ideal solution to my original intention. Visual contact could persist in a sensational way between all readers and researchers as well as the street.

After arranging the position of the functions and the paths of circulation and finally working out the plans till I was satisfied, I was left with one more problem, the outer "shell" or design that would allow transparency to the street yet not disturb the visitors with

too much direct sunlight. I built several study models and finally decided on one that also translates a bit of the interior into it's shape.

Midterm Jury Presentation Below

The Flowing Library of Old Jounieh

When I was walking on the streets of old Jounieh, I realized that there is no clear defined line between public and private space. Neighbors were having their Turkish coffee on the streets, shop owners were socializing with pedestrians... So I decided to design my library in such a way that there is a confusion between private space and public space, I also wanted the transition from public to private to be seamless. Therefore, I extended ramps to the sidewalk and inserted them in a glass facade, so walking on the ramps would feel like walking on an elevated sidewalk. Furthermore, I wanted to maintain this natural flow of movement which one experiences while walking on the streets of Jounieh in my plans, by dividing rooms by freestanding planes. Here is an image of my concept sheet which I presented during the midterm exam. The models in the images above are not my final models.

Working Session - 11/1/2010