London - literature's labyrinth of 'lost souls' is one of the favorite settings for writers/poets/scientists/thinkers and intelligentsia, who have nurtured the city into the greatest hub of intellectual revolution. One of the greatest living cities of the planet, London has had the biggest global influence on the socio-economic and cultural landscape of the world. London has been the influence and subject of various literary figures like Shakespeare, Keats, Milton, Byron, Dickens, Newton, Arthur Doyle, George Bernard Shaw, PB Shelley, Chaucer, Virginia Woolf, JK Rowling etc. to name a few. It has been the greatest hub for the development of arts, science, and the great English Literature.
The aim of the competition is to erect a public library in Hyde park, London that would promote a reading culture among the general public and visitors.
The library should be a freestanding structure and exemplary urban form that will change the rigid outlook of libraries. The architecture should be inviting and informal, being able to connect with the general public as a whole. The library should be fluid and dynamic spatially, being in coherence with nature. The aesthetic quality, materiality, volume, and form should add vitality, beauty and a sense of identity to the space paying respect to context and the surrounding environment. The library should be constructed of easy-to-maintain light and durable materials, introducing elements of transparency, light, nature and activity in the overall building concept.
The library should be able to re-invent itself programmatically by introducing new ways of and incorporating digital technology into its already existing ways and methods of learning. The spatiality of the library should be re-interpreted from boring and pragmatic interiors to some innovative, interesting and flexible typology of reading spaces, furniture, interior arrangements etc. The participants' should focus on creating an experience for the user in the library space that will stimulate the mind to stay and spend time for longer periods.
The competition seeks to create a 21st-century 'library in a park' paradox that will incorporate the social factor in an anti-social built form like a library. It should further become a useful prototypical public resource and an architectural landmark within the park that would even attract non-readers to visit the place.
Download the information related to this competition here.
Title
Open Call: Hyde Park Library I LondonType
Competition Announcement (Ideas)Organizers
Registration Deadline
March 30, 2017 11:30 PMSubmission Deadline
March 31, 2017 11:30 PMVenue
Hyde Park, LondonPrice
Early Registration: From 1st December 2016 to 28th February 2017: EUR 60 (per team) Standard Registration: From 1st March 2017 to 30th March 2017: EUR 80 (per team)