A-da-Beja
Public Library
2011
Academic Work
This academic project was developed in the final phase of an urban planning and requalification program. At this stage it was focused on the proposal for a public equipment, a library and office building.
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The project materializes in a long and narrow volume that starts from a high elevation of the terrain, a stone barrier with a steep slope, and establishes a path that gives access to a lower terrain level, crossing road routes and a water canal. This last one defines the moment of transition between the offices and library. At the opposite limit, the end of this volume is marked by an exception, a second volume, an auditorium, which tops the first with a 90 ° angle.
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The expression of the architectural object is of a strongly stereotonic character, reading as a continuous block in lioz stone occasionally ruptured by openings. The volume, due to its length acquires an elegant character, but well anchored to the ground. Its extension accentuates the presence on the ground and defines the separation between two moments on the outside.
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In the interior the scale of the space is controlled, making it proportional to the human scale and privileges the comfort and permanence in the space. In order to circumvent the scarce existence of exterior openings, a series of courtyards are defined allowing the natural light in to the reading and working spaces in the interior. The accesses in the interior are made through peripheral corridors, leaning against the facade. Between them are the various spaces of permanence.
