Reference: Open-Air-Library

Open-Air-Library in Magdeburg, Germany, is an inspiring reference for our project work.

The library was designed by KARO* with Architektur+Netzwerkin in 2009. The suburb of Magdeburg belongs to areas with social problems, like a high unemployment rates and poor qualiy of public facilities. The building of Open-Air-Library was built by residents of the neighbourhood in participative process from prefabricated pieces from a demolished building of a former library. They organized to collect and share books in a new library that they have constructed.

“Some twenty thousand books were collected and, with over a thousand beer crates a 1:1 scale model of the design that the residents liked best was constructed on the definitive location. This temporary construction was the venue for a small two-day reading and poetry festival.”

This successful initiative helped to achieve the necessary funding from the Federal Government to construct the facility of the new library.

A 1:1 scale model from beer crates was built in workshop. A poetry festival in the model of the desired library. http://www.publicspace.org/en/works/f084-open-air-library

“A thick wall containing shelving for the books shelters a green space where people can read in the open air and it culminates in a higher section that houses a cafeteria and a provides a stage where primary school plays are performed, public readings are given and young people’s bands hold concerts.”

The library is open to the public 24 hours a day. It is managed by the residents themselves who freely borrow and return books. Although, the new library has been vandalised on occasion.

The south-east façade of the library. http://www.publicspace.org/en/works/f084-open-air-library

“The result points to the possibilities of a civil society that is able to emancipate itself from the upside-down State protection when the public administration does not satisfactorily meet its needs.”

The wall shelters a green space where people can read in the open air and culminates in a higher section that houses a cafeteria and provides a stage where primary school plays are performed, public readings are given and young people’s bands hold concerts. http://www.publicspace.org/en/works/f084-open-air-library

Detail of a corner for open-air reading. http://www.publicspace.org/en/works/f084-open-air-library

Links:

http://www.publicspace.org/en/works/f084-open-air-library

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