2019 Switch Competitions / Honorable Mentions
Historically, Sheep Meadow (New York City) has long been renowned for hosting – from sheep grazing to concerts, from protests to recreation – and it now becomes a space devoted to sharing and reading.
In a world where reading culture is on the decline, the LIBRAIR project aims to break with the closed mood of the more traditional and formal library. The concept starts from an open book, as shown in the illustration above, where the bookcases represent the knowledge that radiates from each of its pages, rendering Sheep Meadow an oasis removed from the chaos of the city by majestic trees and shelves of wisdom. By not occupying the center, the circle allows the creation of an area of serenity without privileging any specific part. Entering Sheep Meadow through this threshold, the books become part of the life of visitors even if the volumes are not handled directly, but simply by passing and drawing on the experience.
Individual bookcases are placed all around the grassed space to form an open library where people use their phone to find the book they want whenever they want. Nine of these structures are more symbolic, promoting the experience of new ways of reading centered around different media, sounds and writing; nine spaces made of modules that can be manipulated and arranged as wished. Constructed of Corten, they will last through the seasons as books do in time.
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