DL RL EXI CON L I BRARY DUNL AOGHAI RE-DUBL I N byCar rCot t erNaes s ensAr chi t ect s
Wor dcount :3771wor ds S ubmi s s i ondat e:3r dofApr i l ,2020
ROMEUS ANT ANA
Candi dat e' snumber :20/ 2/ 3117
Note: Unfortunately, due to current self-isolation restrictions, some of the scanned images in this document are of a lower resolution than I anticipated.
Image 01: Conceptual picture of the second floor
Abstract:
In my journey over the years as a student of architecture, I came to value buildings that have a sense of permanence, buildings that are timeless and transcend generations. I chose the Lexicon Library to write about, based on my experience when I first visited the site in 2018. This building is anchored to its site, responding bravely and boldly to unique aspects of its context.
Introduction: In 2007, the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland held an international competition to select the most appropriate design for a new library to be constructed in Moran Park, a partially derelict public park with a bowling green, running perpendicular to the shore of Dun Laoghaire. This new building would become a civic centre for the community and environs, providing several multi-activity spaces as well as house the book collection from the Carnegie Library Dun Laoghaire, designed by O’Callaghan and Webb, opened in 1912.
The Town:
Dun Laoghaire is a town on the east coast of Ireland, about 12 kilometres south of Dublin. Initially named Dunleary named after King Laoghaire, who built a fort on this site in the 5th century. The town was renamed in the beginning of the 18th century as Kingstown, after a visit by King George IV. With the rise in Irish nationalism, in 1920 the town was renamed again as Dun Laoghaire, and remains as such to this day. (1)
The town was a small village of fishermen’s cottages arranges around a creek, and remained unoccupied before early XIX century, when it began its urbanisation as a port and subsequently transformed itself to a thriving seaside community in 1821 when King George IV visited the area and commissioned a large harbour, the Royal Harbour of George IV. It was the largest man made harbour at the time. (1)
Image 02: map of Dunleary in 1804
This wild, rocky granite shoreline with its deep seas functioned as an asylum port since the construction of its harbour, as Dublin Bay was a danger to ships. It was a convenient location for commerce as it has railway lines to Dublin towards north and to Bray towards the south. Today, Dun Laoghaire is a touristic destination; its harbour remains the biggest of its kind in Ireland and is now mostly used by small sailing boats and a ferry to Howth on the north side of Dublin Bay. (10)
Image 03: picture of Dun Laoghaire in 1960
The site: The site chosen by Dún Laoghaire County Council was Moran Park. A partially derelict public park with bowling green, a pond, and steep natural contours, running perpendicular to the coastline. The area was identified by the Irish National Development Plan 2000 – 2006 as an area of rehabilitation, and the location was already owned by DLR CC and would link The Metals (Queens Road) to the popular shoreline to the north with George's Street, Dún Laoghaire's main shopping street. (3)
Image 04: picture of Dun Laoghaire in 2002 Image 05: Picture of Moran Park in 2004
In the opinion of the architects, apart from the physical characteristics, this site was chosen for its unique relationship with transit, memory and its embracing nature: “The welcoming arms of the harbour walls of Dun Laoghaire provide an important identity to the town; even from incoming flights to Dublin Airport, the enclosing nature of the harbour is clearly visible” (3). The architects describe the site as a place of coming and going, with identifiable enclosing walls. They also describe the space as a place of memory “Over the years, this place has represented arrival and departure to and from Ireland, and for a very large number holds an importance in the collective memory” (Carr Cotter 2017). In my opinion, this site was also identified as an opportunity to articulate the seafront of the town, as the natural contours and the railway line created a physical disconnect between the harbour and George Street Upper, the main commercial street of the town.
Image 06: Satellite view of the site in 2005
Image 07: Site drawing before construction
Physical, historical and cultural context: The architecture of the area varies in topology, from Victorian buildings to Venetian inspired buildings such as the Town Hall. Although the town is relatively young, if compared to Dublin, the development of the area in the past centuries was rapid. The Lexicon Library draws reference from these buildings. The volumetric arrangements of the building speak to the large scale vertical landmarks of the area, such as the Marine’s Church and St. Michael’s Church, with a vertically enlarged window facing the harbour. With that in mind, this building is proposing a contemporary interpretation of these aspects, seeking a language that reflects a new prosperous Ireland. The Lexicon is clearly a big building, establishing itself as new landmark for the area and can be seen from Dublin’s south wall about 10 miles away. However, it is sensitive to its smaller neighbours. Image 7 illustrates the articulation of a red brick façade facing the Georgian houses to the left-hand side. The brick façade has horizontal lines composed by grey granite recessed in the brickwork, all in line with the window proportions of the terraced houses. (4)
Image 8: Lexicon library elevation in context
The Lexicon Library took over the collection of books housed by the Carnegie Library, a public library founded by American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Andrew set up more than 2500 public libraries around the world, 66 in Ireland alone. Carnegie once said: “A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert. There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration.” (7) Carnegie believed that knowledge is the best path to self-enlightenment. All his libraries had free access to the general public, a pioneering idea for its time. The particular Carnegie Library in Dún Laoghaire had a special lantern designed with a central skylight, that became a renowned feature of the building, considering the dark nature of the typical library of the beginning of the 20th Century.
Image 9: Carnegie library front façade
Image 10: Carnegie library lantern
The architectural competition In 2007 a competition was put forward by the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, on behalf of Dun Laoghaire County Council for the new library and cultural centre in DĂşn Laoghaire. Over 100 entries were received.
Image 11: Conceptual drawing by architects submitted to the competition
The panel of judges included members of the Dun Laoghaire – Rathdown Council and an overseas expert and members of the Royal Institute of Architect of Ireland. The decision was reached in November 2007, and It was unanimous.
Many of the shortlisted entries had a radically different approach, mostly were lower, submissive and focussed on blending in to the existing architectural language.
Image 12: Shortlisted entry - Conceptual drawing by Imagen submitted to the competition
City council responded firmly to the objections, projecting confidence in the winning scheme. “Then County Manager, Owen Keegan, responded by quoting from the acting conservation officer’s report in June 2009; “the new library building is unashamedly modern and will create a positive tension with the older 19th century buildings of the Royal Marine, Mariner’s Church and Moran Park House.” (13)
In my opinion, this building has a connection to the Heroic Period of Modern Architecture. It is proudly proposing a new set of architectural references. However, differently to modernism, this building intrinsically belongs to a particular site. It doesn’t intend to set uniform rules to be followed in any other site or building as it is a direct response to its environment and brief.
The Brief The brief was ambitions, as it is setting the most significant piece of public infrastructure to be built in Dun Laoghaire for the last one hundred years, since the construction of the Town Hall in 1879 (4)
The brief for the DLR Lexicon was defined by two major aspects: Firstly, to provide several multimedia spaces as a new contemporary approach for the Library and a cultural epicentre for the community and its visitors. Secondly, to reconnect and rehabilitate the fragmented nature of Moran Park where the harbour and the town where previously separated by commercial activity and the train line.
Image 13: Section through site and building
The approach “A sense of place is the single most important thing, is what makes a difference between a mundane piece of architecture and a good architecture� by Richard Rogers (8)
Facing the sea and overlooked by the civic institutions of town (church, grand hotel and town hall) the Lexicon positions itself in this context with a strong contemporary approach. The elongated nature of the building together with the series of ponds frame the adjacent open space.
IImage 14: Site plan sketch
Image 15: Section through site and building
Image 16 Lexicon library view from land towards the sea
The landscape and threshold with the environs: The redesigned park organises existing landmarks in well-proportioned public spaces: the quarry, bowling green and walled garden of the harbour master house.
The building is embedded into the terrain towards the hills while the roof line of the building rises towards the sea. The landscape is terraced and slopes downwards. This strategically affords the ground to reconnect the town to the sea, and at the same time allows the building to be elevated.
Image 17: Lexicon library view from the sea towards the land
The building works as an envelope to the low levels of the Park. The lower ground level of the building is effectively a podium built into the embankment, forming a ‘u’ shaped space that celebrates the retained original bowling green, a semi enclosed urban garden room, both sheltered by the building and framed by the landscaping, using Moran Park to link the town to the seashore
Image 18: Lexicon library top view
This public plaza was carefully articulated to preserve several historic references;
Christ the King, a bronze sculpture by Andrew O’Connor. The sculpture is a robust triple depiction of the desolation, consolation and resurrection of Jesus, designed in 1926 and after a long controversial debate about its final location, placed in the Moran Park in the 70’s. This piece was restored and placed in a stone pier, where it stands proudly on the promenade.
Image 19: Christ the king sculpture
Image 20: Plan position of the sculpture
Moran Park House. The building fronts the site, it was constructed for the harbour master in 1845 and purchased by the Council in 1954, originally called ‘Harbour House’. It was renamed Moran Park House in 1961. It is a building of national significance, where the first commercial wireless transmittion in the world took place in July 1898. The building was carefully restored maintaining most of its original period features, and on completion of the refurbishment, the Council looked for experienced retail operators to run a craft business at the Design Gallery, with studio spaces available for local designers to rent.
Image 21: Moran park House
Image 22: Plan position of Moran park house
The Ponds: Moran Park originally had a large pond, frequented by many wild birds. The ponds were in a semi-derelict state, with overgrowth and a naked embankment. Although the area fell into disrepair, the pond remained a distinctive feature of the Park, and was in its neglect still greatly valued by the local community. The new design proposed a series of terraced ponds, in the same scale an similar position, maintaining the characteristic elements of the area.
The upper level connects the grounds of the Royal Marine Hotel and includes a pond on the site of the reservoir, reconfigured as a series of terraced pools around a sunken ‘bamboo garden’ (ventilating the car park and service area carved out bellow) and raised promenade extending towards the sea. The paths continue around the pond to an informal piazza addressed by the Mariner’s Church and traversed by high terrace, which links the town to the sea. The main library entrance is located here, facing the town. (3)
A wall containing services contours around the hotel boundary, Penetrated by a stone portical as this is an important existing link through the different sites as a shortcut from Marine Road .
“It was important that clear visual connections unified and extended what remains of the original pleasure gardens, ensuring preservation and enhancement of sight lines linking the steeples of St Michael’s and Mariner’s church.”
(Carr Cotter and Naessens Architects, 4)
Image 23: Birds eyes perspective photo from The Royale Marine Hotel, From Archidaily
The building:
Image 24: Side view of the building
Image 25: Sketch by author
Dun Laoghaire is a town of special diversity. Buildings are varied from Venetian palace style in the Town Hall, neoclassic white rendered terraces, red brick detailed façade, cast iron Victorian elements, contemporary multi-story and multi-use buildings. The natural terrain is rocky and ascendant from the sea. Another important factor is the railway line that runs along the seashore, separating the town from the sea.
The Lexicon Library successfully articulates such elements incorporating them into the design process. The very tactile nature of the building converses with both the natural and manmade fabric of its surrounding. To the south east side, the building interfaces with 3 and 4 storey terraced houses, with defined window lines and constant skyline. The correspondent façade addresses this characteristic, with windows that are aligned, and red brick clad façade.
Image 26: Side view from the east side – relationship with residential buildings
To the north west side, the building faces the open space of the park, the former harbour master’s house, a two story 18th century period house with several neoclassic features (now converted into the Irish national gallery), and just beyond that, the built fabric raises to 8 storeys in a residential contemporary building built in 2002. To the south west there is the Royal Marine Hotel, a luxury hotel built in 1863 in Victorian style. Raising beyond in the skyline are two stone church towers, 180 years old marines church (now Ireland’s maritime museum) and to the south west, built in 1829 there is St. Michael’s church. These elements together with so many other significant buildings construct the setting in which the Lexicon Library was designed.
In my opinion, the building is a viewing device. An elongated box, perpendicular to the sea line, with openings in its sides carefully placed to frame, reveal and conceal the views. In section, the entrance from the lower ground takes the visitors through a series of open internal intimate spaces, to the second floor, where there is an entrance to the library space. At this point the sea views are behind the visitor, but long horizontal windows face the St. Michael’s church and the Royal Maritime Hotel. As the visitor moves through the book shelves, they will discover an oak lined staircase leading to the most grand room in the building, the top floor, where the ceiling is composed of skylights and concrete waved beams that open towards the large window that frames the iconic sea view of Dun Laoghaire. There is a clear nautical influence when experiencing this building, both outside as it forms suggests it is about to launch itself to sea, as well as internally with waive like roof beams and vertical vents alluding to sailing sails.
Image 27: Context section through the building - by author
The poetic experience of the building is further enhanced as one spends more time experiencing its intimate details. The essence of the architecture lies in honesty of its materials, a carefully crafted concrete box, lined internally with the warmth of books and oak, crowned by the sky.
Image 28 and 29: photo of main vertical circulation
Image 30: photo of community workshop
Image 31: photo of cart gallery
Image 32, 33 and 34: intimate spaces along the main open plan reading rooms
Image 35 and 36: Photo of open plan reading rooms
Image 37: Photo of the main open plan reading room
Image 38: Collage of materials by author
One of my favourite details is the rain drop light fittings that descend from the brutalist concrete ceiling. In one evening visiting the building, I noticed this local user in contemplation, for about 15 minutes.
Image 39: Internal conceptual image of the mezzanine
I felt a sense of total immersion in this building, especially at night, when the external views were not visible. The elevated mass of the ceiling beams together with the infinite dark sky through the skylights was a truly sublime experience. I sketched a sensorial map that evening (image 40) “An irresistible force, a sense of astonishment, the effect of the sublime in its highest degree, to be breathless, admiration – a sense of powerlessness�
(2) Burk, Edmund. 1756
Image 40: Sensorial map sketch by author
The building has a vast range of internal spaces, ranging from child friendly spaces, and audiovisual lending libraries with 24-hour automated machines for return. In addition, general and local history reference libraries to archives, and library administration offices in the lower levels. There are large interlinking open spaces, with smaller reading rooms and niches adjacent for a more intimate experience. On the Upper Ground level, there is an art gallery and workshop that is open to community use. In the lower ground there is a performance space and auditorium, close to the cafĂŠ concession as you approach the terrace in Moran Park.
Image 41: Floor plans
The construction and technology:
The Lexicon Library is structured in vertical concrete layers, from a staff basement to a large open plan reading room that peaks 29 metres above Queen’s Road . The building is fundamentally composed of a concrete shell, set perpendicularly to the sea front. Most of the walls are reinforced concrete cast in sitio, and the feature wave shaped beams were pre cast and brought to site.
Image 42: Construction photos (3)
The vertical chimney like elements placed on the roof are ventilation shafts. The building uses natural heat convection to circulate fresh air and ventilation. The waive like concrete beams facilitate the flow of air, and the oak clad act as louvers allowing the passage of air. The oak clad on the sides of the beams also function as an acoustic absorbent screen, reducing noise reflection to the rooms below.
Image 43: Section through ventilation shaft
A comparison to modernism When visiting the site, I was moved by the heaviness of the building, by this anchored element that leads people to gravitate around it. The design is brave and bold, unashamed to set a new precedent of design, or to encapsulate the principals of an era. In my opinion, there are characteristics that relate to the modernist period in architecture. such as the horizontal window. In some cases, the direct opposition to modernist principals such as a tactile structural façade are in itself a relation by negation. However, one of the underlining fundamental characteristics from modernism brought forward by the lexicon library is its heroic approach. This building is generating new references for the future, with a solution orientated approach, but with one fundamental difference; these rules are only applicable to itself, as it proposes to respond uniquely to its site, and not to propose a universal set of new architectural guidelines for different buildings in other locations. My first thought for an example when stablishing this connection is the Convent of La Tourette, Le Corbusier’s final building in Europe.
Image 44: La Tourette, by Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier’s latest works reflect this heroic uniqueness, where he moved away from international style and principles, and approached a more tactile site responsive language. La Tourette is in my opinion, the one of the finest architectural pieces from the modern period
The architects:
Carr Cotter and Naessens is an architectural practice based in Cork, founded in 2001. The practice encompasses different briefs of all kinds, from urban and civic building to rural houses. Other completed projects by the firm includes educational building – the Solas Buildings for Nursing and Health Science at the Institute of Technology of Tralee. Masterplan and conservation – The development of the historic South Presentation Convent, in Cork.
The Lexicon building received the RAIA award for the Best Public and Best Cultural building in 2015, as well as the Overall Excellence Award and the Sustainability Award in the 2015 Schueco Excellence Awards associated with RIBA Journal. The panel of judges described the project as “a beautifully made, beautifully crafted building that looks like it’ll be here for a long time. An excellent piece of architecture.”
Conclusion: In the recent years, I became interested in understanding why certain buildings have a particular magnetism to them. In my enquiries, I began to understand that such feelings are not merely a matter of personal taste, or classical well-proportioned beauty, but rather from a combination of elements often not fully understood or disclosed by the consciousness. In my search, I started exploring the concept of ‘the sublime’ through the works of an 18th century Irish philosopher, Edmund Burke. In his books, Burke searches for the origins of such feelings, what in fact originated that transcendent emotion. Burke lists several elements that can ether separately or combine create the sublime experience. Taking the Lexicon Library as an example to apply Burke’s findings, one could argue that there is a sense of powerlessness attributed to the scale and proportions of the building.
When I first arrived at the entrance podium of the Lexicon Library, I stood in contemplation of the sheer mass of the building. I felt a sense of permanence to the building as If it was guarding the Irish shores as it stands proudly, projecting itself from the land towards the sea. Once inside, the building transforms itself into a warm nest, clad by books in soft oak. It was evening, so the sea views were concealed in the darkness outside. As I moved to the second level, the sky revealed itself through the skylights between the concrete beams. I felt that the building was connecting me to the evening sky, in the series of concrete waves.
In my opinion, the Lexicon Library achieves the delicate balance to be a building of civic importance and formality, projecting permanence, but at the same time, creating intimate spaces that are conducive to contemplation and comfort.
Public libraries face a particular challenge to position themselves in the context of the contemporary world as the digital era becomes pervasive. This building understands the challenge.
Bibliography Books and lecturer: (1) Collin, Scudds, (2017) Bicentenary of Dún Laoghaire harbor, of Dún Laoghaire Borough Historical Society, exhibition in 2017 (2) Burk, Edmund. (1756 first edition) A philosophical inquiry into the origin of our ideas of the beautiful and the sublime (3) Carr Cotter and Naessens Architects. (2015) DLR Lexicon: Gandon editions, Kinsale, Cork. (4) Dr, O’Connell, Sandra. (2016) Irish Architecture volume 6, published by the Royal Institute of Architecture of Ireland (5) Forty, A. (2000). Words and buildings: A vocabulary of modern architecrure. Thames and Hudson: London (6) Foster, H. et al. (2012). Art since 1900: Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism. Second revised edition. London: Thames and Hudson (7) Historic Dun Laoghaire: A Walk from Kingstown to Dun Laoghaire Published in 2017 by local historian Michael O’Flaherty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sy-gzOg4S4&feature=share Visited in 2020.02.22 (8) Minding the gap: the role of the contemporary architect Moderator Paul Goldberger and a panel of architects, including Rafael Moneo, Denise Scott Brown, Juergen Mayer H., Thomas H. Beeby, and Richard Rogers, discussed the different ways new buildings can be inserted in historic urban areas in this concluding session of the Getty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eep81a_vZC8&t=4139s Visited in 2020.01.17 (9) Offshoot Photography society https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O__P6LS61w Visited in 2020.02.02 (10) Smithson, Alison and Peter:( (1981) The Heroic Period of Modern Architecture Published by Rizzoli International, New York Articles: (10) Comhairle Contae county council Publisehd in Visited in 2020.03.15 https://libraries.dlrcoco.ie/sites/default/files/Bicentenary%20of%20Dún%20Laoghaire%20Harbour.pdf (11) Linehan, Hugh: ‘Christ the King’ exhibition launches in Dún Laoghaire. The Irish times Published in 2016.06.01 Visited in 2020-03-15 https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/christ-the-king-exhibition-launches-in-dún-laoghaire-1.2667830 (12) McDonald Frank: Why I love Dún Laoghaire library: The Irish times Published in 2014.11.08 Visited in 2020.02.04 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/frank-mcdonald-why-i-love-dún-laoghaire-library-1.1992936
(13) Flaherty, Rachel: Dún Laoghaire council architect ‘surprised’ at criticism of new library: The Irish times Published in 2014.07.14 Visited in 2020.02.04 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/dún-laoghaire-council-architect-surprised-at-criticism-ofnew-library-1.1865009 Websites: Archidaily: https://www.archdaily.com Atkins - landscape consultant www.atkinsireland.ie Billing design associates – façade consultants www.billingsdesign.ie Carr Cotter Naessens Architects http://www.ccnarchitects.net Craig Conservation International www.carrig.ie Dun Laoghaire municipality, county development plan www.dlrcoco.ie Fusion communications www.fuzion.ie/news/id/1201/ Lexicon library website www.dlrcoco.ie The Royale Marine hotel https://dlharbour200.ie/harbour-history/waypoint-4/ The Irish Arts review https://www.irishartsreview.com/the-lexicon/ Archiseek.com http://archiseek.com/2014/2014-library-dun-laoghaire-co-dublin/ Irish Architecture Foundation https://openhousedublin.com/locations/dlr-lexicon/ Table of images: Cover page: Sketch by author, picture from Archidaily manipulated by author. https://www.archdaily.com/576399/library-in-dublin-carr-cotter 2020.04.01, Image 01: Picture of the second floor, reflecting the nature of the building by author Image 02: Map of Dun Laoghairy in 1804, History Ireland website: https://www.historyireland.com/18th-19thcentury-history/dun-laoghaires-great-harbour/ 2020.03.30 Image 03: Picture of Dun Laoghairy in 1960, Geograoh.ie website: https://www.geograph.ie/photo/3734526 2020.02.28 Image 04: picture of Dun Laoghaire in 2002 website of Dun Laoghaire historic society:
http://dlbhs.com/wp/ 2020.02.12 Image 05: Picture of Moran Park in 2004, website of Dun Laoghaire historic society: http://dlbhs.com/wp/ 2020.02.12 Image 06: Satellite view of the site in 2005, Geohive: http://map.geohive.ie 2020.02.08 Image 07: Site drawing by author Image 08: curtesy of Carr Cootter and Naessens Architects, manipulated by author Image 09: Carnegie library front façade, local newspaper Lambstongue https://lambstongue.ie/journal/2020/03/09/carnegie-library-roof-lantern-dun-laoghaire/ 2020.03.01 Image 10: Carnegie library front internal lantern, local newspaper Lambstongue https://lambstongue.ie/journal/2020/03/09/carnegie-library-roof-lantern-dun-laoghaire/ 2020.03.01 Image 11: Collage submits to the competition panel: curtesy of Carr Cootter and Naessens Architects, manipulated by author Image 12: Shortlisted entry in the competition, by Imagen architects – Archiseek http://archiseek.com/2010/2007-unbuilt-dublin-dun-laoghaire-library-3/ 2020.02.13 Image 13 and 15: Section through site and building – by author Image 14: Plan view of the site – by author Image 16: Lexicon library view from land, From Archidaily https://www.archdaily.com/576399/library-in-dublin-carr-cotter 2020.04.01 Image 17: Lexicon library view from the sea towards the land, from Inshore Ireland https://inshore-ireland.com/ferry-service-to-dun-laoghaire-with-brexit-on-the-horizon/ 2020.04.01 Image 18: Lexicon library top view from architect’s book Carr Cotter and Naessens Architects. (2015) DLR Lexicon: Gandon editions, Kinsale, Cork. Page 3 Image 19: Christ the king sculpture, from Irish Archive resources https://blogiar.wordpress.com/2018/11/15/christ-the-king-the-story-of-a-sculpture/ 2020.04.01 Image 20: Plan position of the sculpture, sketch by author Image 21: Moran park House, from Irish arts review https://www.irishartsreview.com/the-lexicon/ 2020.04.01 Image 22: Plan position of Moran park house, sketch by author Image 23: Birds eyes perspective photo from The Royale Marine Hotel, From Archidaily https://www.archdaily.com/576399/library-in-dublin-carr-cotter-andnaessens/5487b6bae58ece0cb300018cdgil-0161-0010-jpg 2020.03.01 Image 24: Side view of the building From Archidaily https://www.archdaily.com/576399/library-in-dublin-carr-cotter 2020.04.01 Image 25: Sketch by author
Image 26: Side view from the east side – relationship with residential buildings - curtesy of Carr Cootter and Naessens Architects, manipulated by author Image 27: Context section through the building - by author Image 28 and 29: photo of main vertical circulation – by author Image 30: photo of community workshop – by author Image 31: photo of cart gallery – by author Image 32, 33 and 34: intimate spaces along the main open plan reading rooms – by author Image 35 and 36: Photo of open plan reading rooms – by author Image 37: Photo of the main open plan reading room – by author Image 38: Collage of materials by author Image 39: Internal conceptual image of the mezzanine Image 40: Sensorial map sketch - by author Image 41: Floor plans – by author Image 42: Construction photos, scanned from book: (3) Carr Cotter and Naessens Architects. (2015) DLR Lexicon: Gandon editions, Kinsale, Cork. Image 43: Section through ventilation shaft, curtesy of Carr Cootter and Naessens Architects, manipulated by author Image 44: La Tourette, by Le Corbusie, from Archidaily https://www.archdaily.com/96824/ad-classics-convent-of-la-tourette-le-corbuiser 2020.04.03