Charles Library, Philadelphia, USA | Snøhetta | America
Project name: Charles Library, Philadelphia, USA
Architecture firm: Snøhetta
Chief Architect: Snøhetta & Stantec
Designer team: Stantec、:Hunt Engineering、LERA
Project location: Philadelphia
The project is located on Temple University's main campus, at the intersection of two master streets, Polett Walk and Liacouras Walk. The project aims to provide a central library for the social and academic needs of the campus's more than 39,000 students. Located on the north side of Philadelphia, just one block from Broad Street, the project building is integrated into the surrounding community while being closely connected to the city's local urban arteries. Based on the dynamic urban context of the site, Snøhetta architects, in collaboration with Stantec, has designed a research library with a rich collection and numerous Spaces for social collaboration, designed to elegantly intervene in the traditional architectural morphology context of the area. The new Charles Library covers an area of 18,000 square meters, about twice the size of the Paley Library built in the 1960s. At the same time, the new library can also accommodate 5 million visitors per day. The architects sought to combine a large number of academic resources with state-of-the-art science and technology to provide equal and comfortable learning Spaces for students, faculty and the surrounding community under the same roof.
In the design process, the architects adhered to the principle of public orientation. At the entrance of the library, the design of open plazas with slopes, inviting the public to enter the indoor space, but also providing outdoor space for outdoor classes and daily gatherings. In the design of the foundation of the library building, the architects chose to use granite slits on the vertical covering to maintain unity with the existing material around the site. In addition, the architects designed a large wooden arch structure at the entrance, which directly collides with the stone volume of the foundation, to create a welcoming atmosphere at the entrance. The use of glass facades, at three entrances, provides ample spatial transparency. At the same time, the architects also extended the towering wooden arches all the way to the interior, resulting in a striking three-story domed atrium. The atrium is primarily a public area open 24/7, with numerous multimedia workspaces open to Philadelphia residents. Although the shape of this giant wooden arch seems exaggerated, on the basis of expressing personality, it also combines with the surrounding site context, and adjusts the material texture and shape scale to present the most sincere welcome.
The dome atrium of the library, because of its special spatial form, makes the internal users can see every corner of the library, thus playing a guiding role, but also makes the internal users become the visual center of each activity. The architects also designed a circular oculus in the middle of the cedar-clad dome, designed to allow external light to pour down from the top floor, thereby connecting the upper and lower ends of the library. In addition, a steel main staircase that extends to the highest level of the library within sight of the entrance invites visitors to ascend. The dome atrium and steel stairs enable visitors to walk through the museum while still able to clearly understand their own location through the series relationship in visual and physical space, so as to achieve convenient and fast access to various resources in the museum.
