SITE LOCATION
barcelona, spain
Timeline
jan. 2019 - Apr. 2019
INSTRUCTORS
Maxi Spina
team
Damien Li,
sHIHYA HUANG
sHIHYA HUANG
1. The library, situated atop the high school, creates a public space for horizontal circulation to activate the isolated site and retain sunlight for the original historical building.
2. The additional volume was introduced to create vertical circulation and direct the flow of people from different directions.
3. According to Barcelona’s Catalan modernism and the curved structure of the existing station, geometric distortion was introduced to reduce excessive volume and capture sunlight.
4. The open space area becomes an extension of the City Park, providing a unique quality to the urban landscape for both the library and thestation.
Typology transformation: Integrating Historical Context through Design
The project aimed to redefine the urban space with a new façade emphasizing institutional presence and to seamlessly integrate circulation and inner public spaces as an extension of the urban environment.
There are three typological extensions: extending the City Park landscape, extending the mass of the high school, and extending the curvature of the station.
Operating across three levels, the first level introduces a new courtyard of activities within the urban plot, activating the isolated site and providing a dynamic space for interaction with the library. On the second level, the library, perched atop the high school,creates three vertical circulations as an extension of the high school, preserving sunlight and safeguarding the historical elements of both the high school and the station. On the third level,g eometric distortion and superimposition are employed to reduce excessive volume, capture sunlight, and form an outdoor space based on the extending grids of the station's structures.
There are three typological extensions: extending the City Park landscape, extending the mass of the high school, and extending the curvature of the station.
Operating across three levels, the first level introduces a new courtyard of activities within the urban plot, activating the isolated site and providing a dynamic space for interaction with the library. On the second level, the library, perched atop the high school,creates three vertical circulations as an extension of the high school, preserving sunlight and safeguarding the historical elements of both the high school and the station. On the third level,g eometric distortion and superimposition are employed to reduce excessive volume, capture sunlight, and form an outdoor space based on the extending grids of the station's structures.
The evolution of space distribution: From Classical to Contemporary
The library program is distributed based on a centralized circulation; The linear reading space is centrally positioned, smoothlyextending to other secondary areas following the shape of the exterior and the grids from the station.
The element of the arch is also incorporated into the interior design. Starting from the ground floor and ascending to the library's roof, the scale of the arch gradually intensifies. This evolution signifies the shift from a classical reading room to a contemporary gallery space, embodying the coexistence relationship between traditional and modern architecture in Barcelona.
The element of the arch is also incorporated into the interior design. Starting from the ground floor and ascending to the library's roof, the scale of the arch gradually intensifies. This evolution signifies the shift from a classical reading room to a contemporary gallery space, embodying the coexistence relationship between traditional and modern architecture in Barcelona.
Harmonizing Tradition and Modernity: Bridging Urban Landscape and Barcelona Library
To foster the coexistence of contemporary and classical elements and respond to the interest in establishing spatial and visual links between the high school and the library, we have designed a multilayered façade. It features Mares-Mediterranean sandstone intricately combined with an abstract,artificial, and digitally-fabricated texture—a reinterpretation of the existing regional material.
On the primary façade, we have integrated the most representative elements as hollow features within the façade plane, in harmonywith the ornamentalism of the surrounding buildings. Simultaneously, the expansive glass window reflects and abstracts the urban landscape, seamlessly blending into the fabric of the city.
On the primary façade, we have integrated the most representative elements as hollow features within the façade plane, in harmonywith the ornamentalism of the surrounding buildings. Simultaneously, the expansive glass window reflects and abstracts the urban landscape, seamlessly blending into the fabric of the city.
Animation for Design Development
