public library extension - Stockholm

30.000m²

Four ways to climb a mountain

reinvent the Observatoriekullen. The building is an inserted path system linking the serpentines of the Observatoriekullen and the Subterranean station of Odenplan. New ways of ascending a mountain introduce the library as a landscape promenade to traverse: ramps, escalators, elevators extend the existing serpentines and introduce previously excluded habitat to the experience of the mountain. The Observatoriekullen is made accessible for disabled people and other classes of population dependant on wheels, as toddlers. The library becomes landscape. (growth: 4 seasons)

The library as a city

is accessible without restraints and becomes a part of the city. Buildings have entrances, cities have streets. The site of the extension is situated between Odenplan metrostation, Gustav Vasa church, Observatoriekullen and the Asplund library. The installment of the library is the opportunity to establish a formal link between two inherent ideologies: the modern subterranean traffic allowing for the rapid exchange and intensification of knowledge and information, and the classical idea of observation and contemplation represented by the Observatoriekullen. The role of the modern library is the integration of these diverse notions of mythology, information and knowledge. The extension mediates between the pastoral Hill of Observations (level 5), the City of History (Level 0) and the Tunnels of Exchange (level -1) by providing access on these strata. (growth: 5 planning years )

The open library

is a piece of open urban infrastructure. As a walk through experience, the library extends from the underground metro system to the Obseravtoriekullen. The program of the library is amended with a series of lobbies that form a sequence of public spaces on this new path through the building, allowing for an informal experience of knowledge. The entrance lobby open to Odengatan holds extended seating furniture to act as an urban lounge and hold the dock spaces of the visitor oriented activities. To it linked is the circulation lobby, equipped with terminals, stretching between the open collection and Gyldengatan. The sequence continues by ascending to the picnic attic on level 5 that opens to Observatoriekullen .