Scattered Knowledge - London Public Library at Potters Fields
The proposal for London Public Library at Potters Fields sets as a new insertion in a particular shred of the urban weft improving and enhacing the wherewithal of the surrounding rather than oppressing it.
Different contextual situations have been detected: a familiar, somewhat typical urban scene on the Southern border of the site area, a still operating construction site on the East, an awe-inspiring high strip facade on the West and a public green space on the North, linking the site to the city hall and the waterfront. The genesis of the building started taking these aspects into consideration in shaping and diversifying the layout of the building according to the location of the programmatic functional requirements, the relationship with the surroundings and the need for different amounts of natural light related to the nature of activities settled inside.
The majority of the original ground floor has been kept unbuilt to lend a character of permeability and openness to the intervention, maintaining the physical and visual connection between Tooley Street and the river front.
The hall welcoming to the public spaces and workshops is located facing the main circulation paths at ground floor, while the access to the reception and the semi-public and private spaces lies underground, in order to let a diversified gradient of accessibility to the building.
The outline of interior spaces follows a principle of adaptability and flexibility, giving a defined yet easily editable layout. The design choice states a scattering of intertwined activities of working, consultating and investigating through different parts of the building rather than stocking them in airtight boundaries. Therefore, both traditional and interactive ways of approaching knowledge result spread all over the building, favouring a higher degree of interaction and exchange between different generations, cultures and technologies.
The leisure spaces are located on the last two floors, offering both indoor and outdoor areas and overlapping to the green space on the rooftop, which is also accessible directly from the ground level through a ramp raising all along the Eastern facade in continuation with the urban fabric.
