Shelf-ish.
A Public Library for Ilioupolis.
A library, as the kind of heterotopia which includes a multitude of times in synchrony, is the embodiment of modernity’s idea of a collective archive. Thus, it is a place of both timelessness and simultaneity, a place where the track of time can be lost by diving deep into one’s self. Showcasing this abstract idea, our design for the public library of Ilioupolis proposes a climaxing path towards innerness: the ground level connects with the surrounding neighborhood as a multi-purpose public space with indoor and outdoor facilities for leisure and events.
The main building develops vertically as a box enclosing a spiral-like promenade during which one can have access to the archive and some common spaces. The books are organized in the outer edges of the floor plan, becoming distinguishable behind a perforated façade. Lastly, the more private reading spaces where one can concentrate the most can be found in the core of the building -as a box within a box- with no immediate connection to the outdoors besides the direct light from the atrium.
