COMPETITION: Dar Al-Uloum Public Library
YEAR: 2018

This proposal aims to create an inclusive, sustainable library that acts as a landmark for the campus and invites people to visit and explore it. In the existing situation, the library has a strict separation from the exterior space and from the rest of the buildings in the campus. The skin of the building acts as a barrier between the built space and the green space that does not allow pedestrians to interact with the park while visiting the building. In this proposal, a second skin is introduced that creates a smooth transition from the exterior to the interior through several micro climates. At the same time it provides extra protection from the heat, because of the additional thermal mass. The skin is pulled towards the interior, allowing the green spaces to flow inside and creating the entrances to the library. The organic shape of the perforated facade guides pedestrians to the library and provides them with shade and visual contact with the interior. The inner garden between the two skins is a green shaded space that welcomes visitors to the library. Water spaces and vegetation create a pleasant micro-climate. The inner garden expands to the interior of the building in the form of a core atrium. The atrium runs to the roof, getting direct sunlight from the skylight, providing a bright open space that introduces visitors to the building. An extra third floor is added that accommodates the additional program extends outwards, in order to provide shading to the exterior.