Stockholm City Library
Stockholm City Library
Our entry to an international competition to extend Erik Gunnar Asplund's 1928 Stockholm Public Library took the form of distinctive, sweeping planes which provided an animated backdrop to the platonic form of the building's rotunda. The design was deliberately dynamic, while being simultaneously flexible and easily understood by library visitors. The proposal was based on three clear principles.
The original retain Asplund annexes were to be retained. A fourth annex that was never built was to be added as a pivotal point in the scheme, where the original rotunda and annexes meet. The existing annexes were to be stripped of their cladding, remaining as skeletal frames enveloped by, and visible within, the fluid forms of the new building fabric. The central axis of the entrance to the original rotunda was extended and expressed via a high-level bridge, acting as a backbone to connect old and new.
The original retain Asplund annexes were to be retained. A fourth annex that was never built was to be added as a pivotal point in the scheme, where the original rotunda and annexes meet. The existing annexes were to be stripped of their cladding, remaining as skeletal frames enveloped by, and visible within, the fluid forms of the new building fabric. The central axis of the entrance to the original rotunda was extended and expressed via a high-level bridge, acting as a backbone to connect old and new.
This would have been the distribution route, connecting all the working elements of the library. The relationship of the existing building to the adjacent landscape was an important part of Asplund's original concept. In our design, these relationships were reinforced by changes to the topography, extending through the building, deforming the existing grid and giving new form to the landscape.
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Client: City of Stockholm
Size: 24,500 sqm / 263,722 ft
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Client: City of Stockholm
Size: 24,500 sqm / 263,722 ft
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