index architecture: daegu gosan public library

the atrium creates strong interfaces with the adjacent park

australian index architecture has completed the design for a new library in the city of daegu in the republic of korea. the proposal for daegu gosan public library is imagined as a space carved out of the city’s urban fabric. following a survey of the project context, the design was formed as an imprint of the different formal trajectories of the surrounding buildings. these vectors were deployed as cutting and carving tools, which split and broke up the volume created by the programmatic brief for the library. from the assemblage produced, three of the eight corner points were then eroded away to form public courtyards, covered spaces and an atrium. the pattern formed through the cutting operation creates a façade of fragmented panels, which are orientated along different angles creating an every changing interplay of light and shadow across the exterior of the building.

like a cave hewn out of the rock through the forces of water and wind, urban imprint has emerged through the generative forces that form the city. an urban cave; it is a room within the city, open to daegu and its people.

the design provides public access to three levels, with a partial basement and roof top accessed by staff and maintenance personnel only. the ground floor has three entry points. staff access is through the south car park, which enters directly into the back of house staff area. the main public access to the library is from the north east corner which includes and undercroft space that opens out into the adjacent park. the north west corner provides a entry way which is primarily set up as breezeway, opening the winter garden atrium on the surrounding area during the warmer months.

  the facade is generated through an algorithmic design process that draws on the rhythms of the adjacent city

the ground floor includes the main reception desk, book return facilities as well as a computer catalogue, magazine and reading area and copying/printing facilities. the staff zone includes a sorting area, meeting rooms and offices, change rooms and other staff facilities. stair access to the basement areas is from behind the reception desk. the winter garden on the ground floor includes a small café pod that serves library patrons and staff year round. access to the first and second floors are rated as wheelchair accessible with a lift and ramp connecting each-other together. the first level houses the multi-purpose room and associated storage as well as the children’s section and story-telling area. located adjacent to the courtyard garden, daylight penetrates deep into the plan and offers a green landscaped break out space within the heart of the building. the courtyard is shielded from the exterior space by mesh cladding on all sides.

the second floor houses the general catalogue and reading areas in addition to the lifelong study rooms, digital data corner and other study spaces. the zones open out onto the voids of both the winter garden atrium to the north west corner and the south west courtyard ensuring the entirety of the plan receives excellent natural light. the roof is enclosed on all sides by concrete parapets and partially enclosed by mesh. the centre of the roof houses a small planted space with the peripheral zones housing the hvac, sprinkler and water head units and other necessary plant.

the crystalline facade is backlit in parts to operate as a glowing lightbox at night

the construction system proposed is of a standard column and beam concrete structure to all floors. the façade is a mass-customised system  of oversized aluminium mullions that accommodate four different panel types. type a is a clear glazed shopfront glazing system that encloses  the ground floor. type b is a semi transparent glazing with a white interlayer film set into the unit. type c is a glass shadow box with a single translucent pane to the front face, with an insulated box housing a coloured led lighting unit behind. access to this unit is through a rear maintenance panel. type c is an anodized aluminium mesh. this façade encloses both the carpark, roof top and the building’s garden courtyard.  the design proposes mechanical hvac systems to be located on the roof top, screened off by a mesh façade. access to the roof is through a  hydraulic lift which also services all other floors.

courtyards provide a growing screen of greenery that shelters the internal space from summer sun

the top of the atrium opens out into the top floor of the library creating an animated well of activity

the winter garden connects all three levels of the complex

  void spaces connect different levels through a ramp

generative process diagrams

location of the complex in the surrounding urban fabric

ground floor plan

first floor plan

second floor plan

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