Hyunjoon Yoo Architects shared with us their proposal for the Green Square Library & Plaza Design in Australia. By locating the building on the west side of the park, this gave them the opportunity to integrate the library and the transport corridor together. The architects believe that a good library is the one that allows people to read books with nature. Therefore, they folded the park on the site to make a terrace garden on each floor of the library. People can read the book facing the garden, and sometimes they can get out and enjoy the fresh air. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Minimize Blocking
The site shape is trapezoid. The East side of the park, working as an entrance is narrow compare to the West side facing the urban context of “Botany Street”. If we locate the the required floor area library on the East side, the building length gets longer. Longer the building mass, More blocking the communication between North and South.
Terrace Garden and Continuing Park
The site is a very nice park with one traffic street across, one pedestrian street across, and a long easement area where no building construction is allowed. These three conditions defines the shape and location of the library. The ground level park is continued to the top level of the library through the outdoor stairs. Therefore, each terrace garden is divided into two zones. One is for the library users, the other is for the people from the park. Two zones are divided with the water garden. People at the park can climb the stair and reach to the each floor terrace and the roof to enjoy the park at different levels.
Easements Area = New passage
The area where no building construction is allowed will be preserved as a major passage connecting the “Drying Green” and the “Green Square Railway Station”. The library will be working as a gateway to the park from “Botany Street”.
Sustainable Library: Two Voids
Best way to make the sustainable library is to design a nice sky light and nice ventilation plan instead of installing solar panels. We introduced two square void space in indoor and outdoor. One is the atrium space penetrating from ground floor to fourth floor terrace brings the filtered natural light into the heart of the library. The other outdoor void space is penetrating the building. This brings the light and fresh air into the library as well as the passage way penetrating the library at the ground level.
