Competition for the state public library

Place: Córdoba
Date: 2007
Design/direction: Eduardo Delgado Orusco, Antonio Juárez

The proposed parcel for the project occupies the actual rose garden at the northern border ending the Gardens of Agriculture that weave transversely the old city with the residential extension. Indeed, this location on the edge of the Paseo de la Estación and the Gardens, allows us to imagine the new library as a ‘gate’ to the city, to the extent that it constitutes a break in the urbanscape in which it is located.

Our project pretends to maintain the actual permeability between the Paseo and the Gardens, avoiding an obstructing effect at any moment. Therefore, and in contrast to the existing height level of 7 floors of the built surroundings we opted for a ‘landscape building’ that does not exceed a two-floor height in order to house the required usage surface. This decision contributes to the integration of the building in its physical and urban surrounding. Indeed, for a library, the minimum number of flat floors is optimal for the management and movement of the books and other related documents.