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News: Ruins of 7,000-year-old city found in Egypt oasis
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THE NEW LIBRARY - Rebuilding an Ancient Glory

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Author Topic: THE NEW LIBRARY - Rebuilding an Ancient Glory  (Read 8488 times)
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Bianca
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« Reply #90 on: May 06, 2009, 06:18:43 pm »









The interior of the building will consist of seven primary and 14 secondary levels in the form of terraces, all within one great cylindrical volume. The "stepping" of the floor plan avoids the claustrophobic affect common to many libraries. The views within the interior are not obscured by the height of the book stacks; each terrace will have viewing platforms to allow for unobstructed visibility.

Natural light, admitted by the dramatic angled glass roof, will be diffused and controlled by a complex system of baffles like upside-down umbrellas, which will protect manuscripts from the harsh direct sun. Balconies will allow access to the outside within the security of the library building.

The massive curving outer wall of the library, built of concrete with a reddish stone finish, will be covered in calligraphic carvings of varying depths, evoking the rugged appearance of cliffs along the Nile. The design, by the Norwegian artist Jorunn Sannes, is an abstract composition of letters from different ancient and modern languages; the architects initially thought of using a piece of text, but, said Dykers, "whatever statement we tried to apply wasn’t important enough for this context."

About two-thirds of the building will be surrounded by water. The level surface of the pool will emphasize the tilting motion of the structure and provide dramatic reflections of the walls. The water will also serve as a cooling device. The pool will contain plants, carefully chosen to make it self-cleaning, and small spotlights arranged in the shapes of the constellations at the time of the ancient library.

Pedestrian bridges will pierce the great cylinder of the main building to link the library to the bay and to the university nearby. In front of the cylinder will be a spherical science museum and planetarium, clad in glass and stone, set within a pyramid-shaped excavation, like a scoop of ice cream in an ice-cream cone. A ramp will allow visitors to descend into the "cone" below the sphere, so that, like Atlas, they can almost hold it in their hands. Much of the site will be hard-surfaced landscape set with palm trees, to stand up to the impact of crowds of visitors.
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