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Rise of the Creative District

Iliana Mitova BA(Hons) Interior Design iliana.mitova@me.com

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The Floating Library and Environment Observation Space

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The Project The project asks for an investigation and response to enable defined communities within Kings Cross area to connect, contribute and interact with a structure sited on the Regents canal.

Islington borough’s position has enabled it to become second with the highest number of businesses in London after Westminster and fifth in the UK. With the regeneration masterplan for the King’s Cross area, a whole new district of creativity is being born.

Battle Bridge basin is situated in the vivid and fast growing area of King’s Cross and St. Pancras stations. It is a secluded place around the bustling transport hubs with a mixed-use space of both business residential buildings.

King’s Cross Area

Battlebridge Basin

London Canal Museum

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Coordinated Community

The floating communit now and before

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The introduction of digital technologies has seen a sharp decline in the use of local libraries. This shift has seen councils closing much loved spaces, where the people community, not only borrowed books, but met, interacted and communicated with a diverse body of the community.

Pavement detail from the towpath around the canal

Concept Sketches

Concept brief The proposal is to create a mobile floating folding structure, which will host a library and meeting space for the communities around the canal, for both, boaters and local residents.

The aim is to encourage the community to share a common space, where they can not only find interesting books, but also socialize and attend literary/cultural discussions, as well as being able to share a different point of view over the canal. The concept is a hub for social literation and inspiration, as well as a spot for meeting two different worlds that share a common space.

Canal Dimentions

Kinetic flaps design process

Regent’s Canal

Movement of the flaps resembles browsing trough book.

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Structure Grid

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Kinetic flaps

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ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS

Glass Pannels Kinetic flaps Regent’s Canal

Kinetic flaps process

Long Elevation

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Concept brief The floating library is designed as a mobile extension to the British Library. It will be supplied with books trough mobile modular units, which will be used as shelves in the structure. The topic of the books is changed at an interval of time, depending on different themes.

Areal view over Battlebridge Basin

Short elevation

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ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS

Ephemeral Interior The interior of the library is made of modular furniture flexible to be moved and reorganised differently depending on the use of the space.

Plan Grid

Folding paper partitions divide the space onto different rooms for reading, multimedia and observation deck. There is also a stair that folds into the wall, when not in use, to go to the rooftop garden on the upper deck.

The bookshelfs are made of easy to assemble and disasemble rectangular modules to ease the moving of the books from the British library to the floating one and back.

Green Roof Plan

Interior arrangement Library use

Interior arrangement for film screenings and presentations

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INTERIOR SKETCHES AND VISUAL

Interior Sketches

Interior Render

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SKETCH MODELS Development of the folding stair

Developing the shape Light investigation

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Process The shape and functionality of the structure was developed trough the media of model making and experimenting with light and shadows.

Final Model

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Paper dividers are used to separate the library into smaller spaces

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