St Antoni-Joan Oliver Library
Barcelona ES
RCR Arquitectes
2007
Type
Library
Tags
public spaces, cultural facilities, urban function, civic spaces, spaces of encounter, urban thresholds, made by women, 200Best, Spain ccc
Visitability
Allowed
Description
A varied project to revitalise an urban complex and recover the interior space of the block.Like a door, the library filters light through the cubicles of the reading rooms between the two sides, and allows the sun to enter through the open access from the street towards the garden. The retirement home, in a cul de sac, forms the public space with its facade and courtyard behind. This becomes an element of social cohesion that boosts the relationship between children who play there and elderly people who come and go. And the garden itself, with trees, gravel, games…appears, on one hand, to be the extension of the library’s reading rooms - that offers a space with tiers for a more playful use - and on the other hand, suggests the illusion of continuing beyond the retirement home.(Description provided by the architects)