bradley edwards, architect
Author Bradley Edwards
Type Competition proposal - addition to the Stockholm Library
Competition date 2006
Site footprint 230,000 ft.2
Building Size 258,000 ft.2
Location Stockholm, Sweden
Taking a cue from the beauty and simplicity of the original Gunnar Asplund Library spatial sequence, the new entry to the library takes the user into a large centralized ceremonial space which acts as a destination but also serves as circulation hub to the “wings” of the building. The new main entrance of the library is along Odengaten is at the same level of the rotunda level. Upon entering the building and moving into the main space, one is presented with a grand stair which accesses all public levels of the library and forms the essence of the proposal. It is the center of public activity in the library and the pivot point in which the user is directed to its purpose. The stair provides an alibi for exploring publicly active space generated by “amphitheatre” seating coinciding with the stair proper and acting as informal study and lecture nodes along each landing. Keeping Annexes 2 and 3 were important not only because of their historical significance but because of cost. The proposal leaves the annexes untouched with the exception of vertical circulation and roof access to the new addition. The annexes also act as form generators to large parts of the library addition. The scheme inherits its pervasive “thinness” from the annexes coincidental with Stockholm’s prevalent building typology of thin building profiles to allow maximum light into interior spaces. The thin “wings” of the building stretch across the site and confiscate significant views of the Asplund building as well as views of the greater urban area. They also act as secondary entrances from the Diligentia property and Observatory Hill. The connection to the existing library is achieved through a Travertine plinth that formally separates the two ceremonial spaces but functionally connects the three large spaces through primary public activities. There are two primary axes that exist in the proposal. The first is the existing axis established from the Sveavagen entrance, through the rotunda, and continued through the sky lit plinth and into the grand stair. The second axis begins at the Odengaten entrance and moves up the grand stair and out onto Observatory hill.