The Redhook Library

The RedHook Library is a celebration of light with a call back to the traditional reading rooms. It consists of a series of dome-shaped rooms each with at least one skylight pointing in the direction of the sky where light would be most needed for the specific programme with an aperture corresponding to the lux needs. The experience of the library spills out into the courtyard where the landscape is sculpted to provide recreational zones that complement the layered walls of the library.

The library is lifted above the ground creating 2 distinct spatial experiences the dome experience of the continuous floor plate and the undercroft underneath. This creates a multiple user experiences depending on the visitor’s intention. If they wish to spend time in the library, they can ascend via the points that touch the ground. Likewise, if their visit is transient, they can visit the undercroft and relax by the reflection pools.

The apertures in the dome-shaped spaces are calibrated specifically to the site on which it sits. Reading rooms have a dome with a large aperture to allow large amounts of light while computer rooms which tend to be darker have smaller apertures away from the sun path to allow for less light penetration into the space. This careful calibration of light and space creates a unique experience as visitors travel through the space experience varying lighting situations that mirror the task they are undertaking.

As physical books react adversely to direct sunlight they are stored underneath the dome spaces thus creating a vertical journey that the visitors can travel through when vising the space. They start at the bottom and select their material and slowly ascend into light.