Microlibrary Fibonacci

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Microlibrary Fibonacci

Firm

SHAU

Type

Educational › Library

STATUS

Concept

SIZE

1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

Short description
With the concept of modern urban ruin in a lush park, parametrically-designed, spirally-arrayed curved concrete ribs are used to hold a lightweight roof with a moss texture finish. The structure shall coexist with nature and trees, providing unique semi-outdoor but shaded reading spaces in between the Mushola, kiosk, and toilets which are accommodated in the spiral rooms. The building will also be used to host events related to arts and crafts.

Design brief
The design for the Fibonacci library started as a self-initiated office internal design experiment/exercise. The initial interest was to think about topics like parametric design, non-standard vs. standardization and how to design and build within a manual labour focused construction environment of Indonesia. Instead of from “file to factory” a “file to craft” solution was sought. The initial parametric grasshopper model therefore did not aim for algorithmic generation of form but using standardized construction elements like the rib structure in a flexible way since a site and exact spatial program was not available at that moment. The parametric model was then made insofar flexible that is was possible to generate design variations in terms of the amount of ribs, amount, orientation and layout of spiral rooms, building height, rib dimensions (to be determined later by the structural engineer and exact construction method), dimension of the overall building, etc. Later within the scope of previously designed and built Microlibraries of Taman Bima and Taman Lansia the design was presented as a prototype to the Mayor of Bandung Ridwan Kamil..

Design process
Due to the confirmation by the Mayor for building a Microlibrary within a park the notion of having an all sides opened pavilion where one can enter from whatever direction became even more relevant. During the further design process SHAU perceived the pavilion as a structure which in a way should produce a feeling of being fully integrated and reclaimed by nature like an almost forgotten ruin. The modernist idea of functional separation of constructive elements was questioned and thus the columns made of ribs were designed with a bigger radius so that those are able to house the different functions of the building. At the same time the ribs also will function as integrated bookshelves for the library. In that sense the spiral array of the ribs is a hybrid of structure, functional requirements and fixed furniture. While experimenting with various options of how to enter the center of the thick rib columns (making a door between the ribs seemed awkward), the spiral column array was found, hence the name Fibonacci Library. This was then integrated into the parametric model to be able to further flexibly alter position, size and orientation of the openings. Here the toilets are oriented to the outside so that those are accessible also after opening hours, whereas the Mushola (prayer room) and kiosk are oriented to the inside and become inaccessible after closing the library in the evening.

The building will get a green roof, despite the fact that rain water management is not as important within a park as compared to a more densely built urban surrounding. However it will contribute to a passive climatic strategy since contained rainwater will evaporate and therefore cause an evaporative cooling effect underneath. Inspired by moss graffiti, SHAU looked into the possibility to install moss underneath the ceiling and hanging vertically down in between the ribs. Further artificial grass will be installed as part of the flooring material, since by installing the same material at the Film Park and Alun Alun (Main Square) in Bandung, Indonesia it has been proven that people will take off their shoes and treat the public space like an urban living room which is not only used for walking but sitting and playing and in this case reading. With installing a green roof, moss ceiling and artificial grass the green surface of the park is continued into all horizontal surfaces of the Fibonacci Library and visitors are layered between green. As a result of library and park relation visitors may experience going through a sequence of open and semi-open, green spaces.

Construction and Materials
The initial concept was to construct the library from pre-manufactured concrete ribs which differ in length and span but are otherwise identical. After consulting with the structural engineer another method was suggested, namely the use of shotcrete structural insulated panels. Here concrete is sprayed onto a form core cladded with a metal mesh. Usually it adds the benefit of thermal insulation to a building made of concrete, but in this case it gives the opportunity to build a lightweight construction which as a result reduces the load on the foundation and thus material usage. It also solves the logistics problem of transporting prefab ribs to the site by using an in situ construction method. A local contractor specialized in shotcrete construction was found and was willing to help to engineer and specify the construction method for the more unusual Fibonacci Library building. They also produced 1:1 partial mock ups of the corners of the ribs in order to demonstrate structural abilities, surface quality and overall precision of the construction. As a result each of the ribs is going to have a width of 12cm in total. The façade of the rooms behind the ribs will be made of stretched metal in various layering according to privacy requirements. Since those are situated behind the extended roof edge, extensive rain protection is not required but the permeability allows cross ventilation not only in the more open parts of the pavilion. The roof is also going to be a light weight construction of corrugated metal with OSB cladding, waterproofing and green roof on top.

Team
Design, Architect: SHAU Indonesia
Florian Heinzelmann and Daliana Suryawinata with Rizki Supratman, Akbar Hantar, Ayodia Perkasa, Melita Felicia, Roland Tejo Prayitno, Octavia Tunggal, Denden Mulyadi, Ryan Azhar

Structural Engineer: SMG Trust
Asep Sumargo

Contractor: B-Panel, PT. Beton Elemenindo Putra

Client: City of Bandung