It's functional, looks like it was built from paper, and its design was created by using modern technology. This is the concept of the new Belzyce Public Library by {tag:pracownie}.
Libraries perform an increasingly wide range of functions. Nowadays they are not only places for storing and providing access to book collections, but also cultural centers, animating the life of the local community. They host workshops and lectures, author meetings, exhibitions, activities for children and seniors. Multidirectional strategies are yielding results, as evidenced by studies confirming a nationwide increase in the number of visits and loans in Polish public libraries. The growing ambitions and broad plans of Polish libraries are also being followed by increasing needs, which are often associated with outdated infrastructure, unsuited to the broad profile of their activities. The answer to the upward trend in Polish readership is the construction of new libraries - fortunately, some of them are being built according to excellent designs, a prominent example of which is the Library in Choszczówka near Warsaw, opened in early September this year.
The design of the new public library in Belzyce
© GK-Atelier
specialists in library design
A true specialist in library design is Grzegorz Kloda, founder of the GK-Atelier studio. His authorship includes three libraries in Lublin: Bioteka, Library on the Level and Relax Library. Grzegorz Kloda was interviewed by Wiktor Bochenek about the New Horizon library in Krasnik. In the near future, Metroteka in Warsaw's Targówek district will open, while today we present the project of the Municipal and Communal Library for Belzec in Lubelskie province. Grzegorz Kloda invited two young architects to work with him - Marta Zionkowska from the Kreska design office and Oskar Curyla from the OCMD Architects interior design studio. Together, they presented a bold concept that used means beyond the traditional design workshop.
Design of the new public library in Belzyce
© GK-Atelier
books enclosed in a white box
The body of the presented building is rather minimalist - cuboidal, with an arched, roofed corner, where the main entrance to the library is located. The southeast corner, on the other hand, has been rounded, implicitly referring to the spine of an open book. The snow-white cuboid was clad with facade panels with openwork, flowing forms. The cladding was planned by the author's team using parametric technology. What does it consist of and what possibilities does it offer?
Parametric is distinguished from the traditional approach in design primarily by its unlimited possibilities in terms of form and shape. When we look at the architecture around us, both ancient and modern, we see that it is mostly built by flat surfaces, right angles and perfectly horizontal and vertical lines. These are shapes that are generally not found in nature. The forms we can design with parametric technology are more organic, closer to those that nature itself could create
- explains the author of the project, Grzegorz Kloda.
Design of the new public library in Belzyce
© GK-Atelier
According to the architects, the library's unusual form is the resultant of two maxims that gave direction to modernist and postmodernist architecture. "Less is more," the slogan preached by Mies van der Rohe, is, in the Belzyce library, its cuboidal body, the skeleton of the building. Its parametric skin, in turn, refers to the slogan of Robert Venturi, who stated that "less is bore." In keeping with the postmodern ideal of the "decorated shed," the architects envisioned an ornament adorning the library that would resemble the sheets of paper in the books that male and female readers leaf through.
Design of the new public library in Belzyce
© GK-Atelier
third place
The interior layout of the library was dictated by functional considerations of the designed building, which, like other library projects of the GK-Atelier studio, implements the idea of the "third place".
[...] the idea of the third place is presented very superficially. Namely, the third place as a place of rest from home and work. This is correct, but it definitely does not exhaust the assumptions of this fantastic idea. For me, one of the most important aspects of it is the possibility for local activists and community workers to initiate processes. That is, a library designed according to this idea is not just a place to rest from work and home, but a place where I can realize my passions and ideas.
- Grzegorz Kłoda said in an interview with Wiktor Bochenek.
Project of the new public library in Belzyce
© GK-Atelier
The interior concept for the Belzyce library was therefore based on a rich and flexible functional program. On the first floor, in addition to administrative, social and technical rooms, there will be reading rooms, divided into two-story zones for adults and children. The latter are also dedicated to a separate active activities zone. For the elderly, a relaxation area and a workshop room have been designated. The first floor premises are organized around a glazed, tree-planted atrium, in front of which the reception is located. On the first floor, in turn, there are a conference room and an exhibition space, planned in the form of a long corridor with an undulating, organic course.
Project of the new public library in Belzec
© GK-Atelier
reading on the roof and under a tree
During the summer season, the facility's recreational offer will be enriched by the space made available to users on the roof. Here there will be seating areas and covered benches - as with the light-breakers on the façade, the outdoor furniture was designed with parametric technology. This is no different with the seating distributed within the area around the building. This one is to serve as a small park, as the GK-Atelier team designed the library in such a way as to spare the entire tree stand overgrowing the plot. The pro-environmental character of the building is also expressed in the solution of the roof space, which in addition to the recreational zone will also have a green area with both smaller and larger plantings.
Design of the new public library in Belzyce
© GK-Atelier
The concept for the Belzyce Public Library is another example of how a properly designed library facility can offer users much more than just the ability to borrow books. The project is also a training ground for modern parametric technology, which allows for non-standard formal solutions and flexible shaping of space, both in the interiors and facades of the building. We are keeping our fingers crossed for the realization!
