The IAA library building, by Symbiosis Designs LTD, emerged out of a necessary garden meant to provide students with a fundamental epiphany shedding, enabling foresight and inviting them to contribute to humanity. “Legacy Garden” is a vast reflective pool with a river stone bed flooded with water only on the special occasion of graduation day.
Architects: Symbiosis Designs LTD Location: Amman, Jordan Project team: Khalid Nahhas, Husam Aldibis, Jawad Hamdan Structural engineer: DIMCO Mechanical engineer: Spectrum Mep. Consulting Engineers Electrical engineer: Spectrum Mep. Consulting Engineers Client: (IAA) The International Academy – Amman Project Year: 2009 Project Area: 4,200 sqm Renderings and Photographs: Courtesy of Symbiosis Designs LTD
Sculptural representations of men and women of great accomplishment, such as Ibin Rushd, Einstein and Gandhi dwell in the pool as a solid human legacy forest. Graduates obtain the privilege of walking amongst the sculptures and unto a floating platform in the water to gather, as a class and to cherish the moment of their own accomplishment in an extremely dramatic setting.
The pool, is designed to capture the shadows and reflection of the sculptures, often perceived as souls, as well as to capture the mirror image of the flying glass library above, with its brightness representing enlightenment, an image appropriate for the occasion. The library is also designed with two extreme dualities, a grounded stone building that houses the book stacks; and a hovering glass structure held in flux with a gesture towards the magical and imaginative.
