murúa valenzuela: taltal public library

‘taltal public library’ by murúa-valenzuela, taltal, chile image © macarenaalvarez

south of the city of antofagasta, within the coastal town of taltal, chile is the recently completed ‘taltal public library’ by chilean practice murúa-valenzuela. overlooking a central square, the building forms a cultural network by linking to the historical theater while creating a variety of internal reading atmospheres with diverse roof and ceiling heights. placed upon a 40 meter long and 7 meter wide site, the long and narrow configuration defined the spatial organization, utilizing large skylights to brighten the interior’s three storeys.

ground level reading room image © macarenaalvarez

reaching a height of 7 meters, the building’s side wall enclosures were predicted to become a dominant visual presence within the area, towering above the small-scale surrounding structures. totaling 80 meters in length, the boundaries were viewed as facades instead of as walls which merely divide the bordering property lines. an applied texture within the concrete formwork replicates intricate designs found in the neighboring alhambra theater and other venues within the district while color changes were incorporated during the cementing process to break up the monotony.

(left) skylight illuminates the reading room from above (right) school girls using the facility images © macarenaalvarez

bookshelf image © macarenaalvarez

images © macarenaalvarez

images © macarenaalvarez

ground level image © macarenaalvarez

(left) glass doors border the neighboring wall clad with wooden planks (right) upper level reading room images © macarenaalvarez

open light well illuminates ground level courtyard image © macarenaalvarez

images © macarenaalvarez

image © macarenaalvarez

(left) rooftop terrace (right) upward view of vaulted ceiling images © macarenaalvarez

view from the street images © macarenaalvarez

view of the textured side walls image © macarenaalvarez

overview of taltal, chileimage © macarenaalvarez

example of the local historical designs and patterns image © macarenaalvarez

example of the local historical designs and patterns image © macarenaalvarez

modelimage © macarenaalvarez

site plan

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

floor plan / level 2

street elevation

video © nicolas rupcich

project info:

architects: benjamín murúa, rodrigo valenzuela location: taltal, chile – region of antofagasta
 development: ximena vallejos, miguel mallea project year: 2008
 construction: 2009-2010