Central Library Rosario,

Franco Escurra+Juan Cingolani+Juan Lucas Barranco

We start from the idea of large elevated volumes, mostly covered by large planes in the form of arches that hang from the terraces until they almost touch the ground.

Starting with different diagrams that shared the same base, we distributed the different programs that would house a building of this magnitude and importance. The study of the environment allowed us to recognize the significant flow of people in the area, being located in the heart of the city, next to one of the busiest public service bus stops and in a diagonal corner at the end of the pedestrian walkway. Most important in the city.


With the elevation of the volumes, the project obtained a ground floor that is mostly free, sheltered by the large planes and volumes that stop the direct radiation of the sun during strong summers and cold winter breezes, inviting people to stay for a while. Time functioning as a connecting space of the immediate environment. On days when the auditorium opens its doors for an event, this area works as a foyer and meeting area prior to entry.


The main staircase is present with hierarchy from all points of view on the ground floor, inviting you to walk through it and get to know each space and activity that a library of these characteristics offers. Along the way we perceive how these apparently isolated boxes begin to connect both horizontally and vertically, through covered or semi-covered areas. The faces of these boxes are mostly materialized by transparent envelopes that (due to the imposing presence of the planes) allow diffuse natural light to enter and gradually generate fragments of views of the surroundings in a surprising way, without overusing showing everything at once.


Three stages could be recognized within the project. On the ground floor we find a lot of space without walls to stop it, volumes that are above us and planes that fall from the top and its supports are not clearly perceived. Once we go up one floor we get into a “jungle” of volumes, totally changing the sensations, as the looks from the different volumes meet in the empty center. And reaching the last level we find ourselves in the last stage, where we once again perceive this free space, but now we find the supports of the planes and the large vaults that they generate.

 

Authors: Franco Escurra+Juan Cingolani+Juan Lucas Barranco.
Location: Rosario, Argentina.
University:  Universidad Nacional de Rosario.
Year: 2020