Museums and Libraries: The Latest Architecture and News

Designed by STL Architects, the new Daegu Gosan Public Library focuses on the evolution of the role of the library in regard to the new ways we now learn and teach. With extensive amounts of information, that could historically only be accessed in and from a library, being readily available to nearly anyone, this library will be a place where people come to live and vast knowledge resources are more than stereo-typical encyclopedias. Instead of libraries being generically thought of as a dusty place where books come to age and be seldom used, this library will be a place where social interaction is the essence of existence. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Designed by JBAD (Jonathan Barnes Architecture and Design), the proposal for the Daegu Gosan Public Library proposes to simply, and radically, invert the conventional relationship of public space, circulation and access. In doing so, the public space typically defined and confined as interior, enclosed space becomes externalized, extroverted, stretched, and reformed. With their ”INversion’ concept, the way of interpreting the library as structure and space provides an opportunity to create exterior public space in ways that are both more integrated with the library’s functions and more connected to its urban context. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Designed as a social landmark, the proposal for the Daegu Gosan Public Library by Group8 is to be seen as an open entity, welcoming and willing to share its content. Located in a district with high educational standards, the library will become one of the main cultural facilities of the neighborhood, open to everyone. It will offer all the classic functions of a library but with a strong community identity and convenient amenities. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The construction of the National Museum of Afghanistan aims to celebrate the richness of the country’s cultural heritage and the spirit of its people. The “Timeless Cube” design proposal by Matteo Cainer Architects awakens the nation’s cultural heritage through powerful symbolic references, where physical fragments and traces inform us of its past. This concept is well illustrated in the ‘negative spaces’ of the artist and sculptor Rachel Whiteread that highlight the memory of an object, rendering the invisible visible through a reversal of solid and void. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The driving force in the proposal for the Daegu Gosan Public Library Competition was how new technologies can apply to libraries. Gillot + Givry Architectes, therefore, created a library that would mainly use virtual components. As thinking about South Korea as a world technology leader, could these skills change the way to design architecture? Since use of tabs is a common thing in Korean urban population, it is possible to create a library based on a wireless network. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The winning proposal in the Daegu Gosan Library competition, by architect Gorka Blas, conceives the library as a cultural and social space for the local community. For this purpose the project focuses in obtaining a functional, attractive and confortable facility that constitutes an essential element for neighborhood´s everyday life. In order to achieve this objective, the project translates the scale of the domestic space to a public facility, without lack of its public dimension. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Most people would imagine libraries being made up of large platforms fully equipped with rows of desks and bookshelves stacked on one another with strict division of programs in the building. However, the second prize winning proposal by Seung Hyun, Yuh and Se Hyeon, Kim from studio SH for the new library typology for Gosan starts by examining and breaking apart this hierarchical inclination. By blurring this strict boundary and providing flexibility in its library program, the ‘White Diamond’ becomes not only a place for exploring knowledge but also a space for meditation with diverse private and public experiences. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Our friends from JAJA shared their latest proposal, which was awarded third prize, for a new public library in Daegu, South Korea. Pushing the boundary of the notion that a library must be a contained, quiet and nearly isolated space, JAJA’s proposal treats the library as massive public zone for the fostering of communal creativity, and dissolves the separation between inside and nature. JAJA, typically noted for their form making abilities, have opted for a minimialistic formal language of the architecture, so that the streamlined library can capture the textures of the existing trees and the books within to create a cohesive experience that celebrates both.

More, including images, drawings and model photos, after the break.

The Daegu Gosan Public Library Competition Entry by Eduardo Lopez arises from two considerations; in the first place, understanding the importance of the facade as a foreground and background to the library site and secondly, taking up the radical change to the direct link between the ‘green belt’ and the surrounding area. To resolve this, the architects attempt to merge the library volume with the buildings next to it and create a movement in the facade, where the trees of the ‘green belt’ carve the facade vertically, creating a sense of dynamism. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Just a short time since its public opening celebration, Farshid Moussavi’s Museum of Contemporary Art is already a dynamic hub of activity for the city of Cleveland. A three-day festival in early October welcomed museum members, out-of-town guests and the general public with a series of art installations, music and entertainment, to showcase the city’s newest icon. Moussavi joined in the festivities and was honored for her sleek faceted form at the museum’s three-tiered party. Although we have been following the progress of the project since its conceptual phases, we have yet to see what the mysterious black cube has to offer in terms of interior gallery spaces and public gathering zones… until now! Check out a great series of interior photos plus beautiful exterior photos by photographers Dean Kaufman and Duane Prokop to compliment our set from the summer time.

More after the break. 

With the role of the library changing in recent years, a library functions as more of a community center with less concern in collection space. In their proposal for the Daegu Gosan Public Library, PRAUD‘s concept focuses on creating flexible and generous space in user oriented space, and on housing collection space into certain area. Basically, collection spaces are located in between two major cores, that are also major structural supports of the building. More images and architects’ description after the break.