Library On the Edge

Providence, RI

RISD - Architectural Design Studio Spring 2021

This library is a place for social gathering, study, and debate. The concept emerged from the duality, or two-sidedness, of the “wall building” where a longitudinal separation allows for different experiences of the city: one side compressed against neighboring buildings, the other open and extended to free the ground. The open side relates to the constructed ground which serves for collective inhabitation and public events. The building’s internal structural wall remains sectionally intact as a guide that takes on different shapes on each floor adapting and including the program.

The first floor of the library is open to the public throughout daytime. The space is not seen from the sidewalk, but rather, as one descends into a lower ground by way of large-scale steps. The public entry opens under the hovering mass of the building to offer full experience of this compressed condition.

Left:

Plans of the building:

G) Steps with theater seating leading up to the main entrance

1) The shipping/staff entrance, office spaces (this floor is skipped when going to the library from the ground floor as a visitor)

2) Cafe and open study area

3) Stacks, individual and group study spaces

4) Stacks, individual and group study spaces

5) Auditorium, open study space

R) View deck with seating and swings

Right

Sections cutting through (top to bottom) open areas, sides cut by the core in the middle, and an open area by the circulation block. See the