The Library

Extension of existing culture house and new library and concert hall

  • How do you design a contemporary library in a run-down neighborhood with an extremely diverse group of inhabitants?  
  • The library is located on the fringe of Copenhagen, but in a very vibrant neighborhood with a large population of youth and diverse nationalities.  
  • The existing culture house forms the basis of the extension.  
  • Half of the culture house is dedicated as a youth-house (grey area), mainly occupied by left-wing activists. The extension is placed in front of the existing building.  
  • 50% of the extension is new program.  
  • The two programs are divided into smaller volumes, reminiscent of books in their proportions.  
  • The 'books' are stacked, to form a dynamic structure. Some of the blocks are transparent, others are clad in an aluminum stretch metal.  
  • Longitudinal section
  • Transversal section
  • Plan: ground floor
  • Plan: first floor
  • Plan: second floor
  • Plan: third floor

The Library is an extension of an existing culture house combined with a new library and concert hall in Copenhagen’s north-west. The concept of the Library focuses around the creation of a space that is more than just a place you go to find books – the building also works a village hall, a community center and an urban space uniting the neighborhood. The building consists of 4 golden boxes displaced in proportion to each other - like a stack of books. At ground floor, there's a children's library, then a youth library, a library for adults and finally on top, a concert hall. The different volumes are connected with staircases and in the space between the boxes, are multi-purpose areas.

Vanessa Carlow contributed to the project as part of COBE in Copenhagen.

Address:
Copenhagen, Denmark