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TWO ROOMS
(2018)
BRIEF:
To design two rooms that will be situated within a library that will be further developed in a future project.
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The first room is the "Hall of Knowledge" and should be designed to be a heroic space within the library. It should express a sense of grandeur through scale and emphasise verticality through volume, light and materials. This space will have a sense of centrality and act as a circulation space leading to spaces beyond it's walls.
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The second room is to be the "Chamber of Reflection", a humble and cozy space within the greater context. It should contrast the material and spatial qualities of the hall, with a sense of mystery and repose created within. Serving as a retreat, the chamber should facilitate activities such as reading inside and allow only for a small amount of user to interact within it at any given time.
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RESPONSE:
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The Hall of Knowledge serves as the main entrance lobby to the library. It serves as the
primary circulation space with grand openings in the walls revealing distance opportunities beyond the initial room. A cantilevered balcony hovers over the central space, emphasising the verticality of the room. The envelope is informed by the spreading pages of an opening
book, referencing the knowledge held and imparted in libraries.
Cast concrete walls undulate in the external facade with varied vertical apertures
referencing the pages between and casting magnificent shadows and light within the space to create a unique quality that heightens the users experience and ability to place make. The sheer scale and saturation of the brutalist envelope allows not only for a sense of grandeur but makes the room a heroic space.
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The Chamber of Reflection in contrast to the Hall of Knowledge is a humble and functional space. The exterior envelope is comprised of curved layered horizontal timber fins that are used to house traditional paper books. The entrance has a lowered height to force users to manipulate and bend their bodies down to enter, like the humble act of bowing in Japanese culture.
Inside the human-scale bookcase pavilion, the horizontal fins with enclosed books act as a privacy screen to the outside context while facilitating the traverse of natural light. Round openings in the roof, frame views of the outer library and provide a small glimpse to outside, creating mystery within the space. Warm timber saturates the space creating a familiar sense of place with soft padded matting on the steps allowing the users to comfortably sink away into the corners of the frame and read. The subdued lighting and manipulation of light provides adequate conditions for reading while creating a moody, comfortable and humble space.
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