BIBLIOTECA LORENTEGGIO
Biblioteca Lorenteggio, Milan | 2018
The concept has been elaborated starting from the analysis of the context and from the input provided: the synergetic meeting between the service structures (the library, the covered market and the centre of cultural associations), constitutes the crucial centre of the new public space, a square, a meeting and identity place for the inhabitants of the neighborhood and the city, with a strong aggregative connotation that can be breathed by the soft shapes and the open and flexible spaces of the park and its architectures, all immersed in a large park, rearranged by lines with less jagged edges.
The intervention on the park is minimal.
As for the trees, to obtain the space for the construction site of the new library, 5 trees are transplanted, relocated in front of the large fountain to form a continuous promenade. New trees are planted along the driveway to via Lorenteggio symmetrically compared to the existing ones (also Tilia spp.). A cherry tree is placed inside the library's winter garden.
The dog area and the playground are moved to different places in order to design larger and more adequate spaces.
The green area is equipped with a public lighting system on poles positioned mainly along the pedestrian paths to increase the existing one consisting of the light towers.
The extraordinary maintenance works of the current flooring are limited on the new square, in concrete slabs, harmonizing its forms with the existing architectures, pavements and flower beds, with the aim of recovering and enhancing the existing green areas, respecting the trees.
Park and services are served by pedestrian paths crossing the area and are connected to the main transportation of the city, first of all the new metro stops, as well as to the cycle paths, assisted by the presence of the two new bike-sharing stations provided.
The new library is configured as an architecture with sinuous features, arranged on two levels (ground floor and first floor). The roof plan, partly walkable, is characterized by an extensive green roof covering, with green "bubbles" that move the profile and form the profile of the seats towards the inside. All this is accompanied by photovoltaic and solar thermal panels, to assist the power supply coming from the public network and supply domestic hot water.
The floors are connected by a large staircase, which can be walked both from the inside and from the outside of the structure, with large seats made up of double-height steps, where you can read or rest.
The structure, with free plan on pillars, is interwoven with cylindrical glass volumes that form a continuum from the base to the roof: on the ground floor a winter garden, in the development a source of light and fluidity for the interior spaces, on the top covering plastic forms that stand on the green.
Great fluidity is given to the distribution of common spaces, encouraging free movement between different environments and between inside and outside. The pillars are "surrounded" by tailor-made bookcases with a truncated conical shape, while the sectors dedicated to the different types of users are delimited by thin curved walls, sometimes making the transition between one environment and another interesting thanks to the use of revolving walls equipped with shelves.
The entire building adopts the fundamental principles of sustainable and lasting construction: wood for furniture and bookcases, resin floor and continuous glass for the external walls are all simple, durable and functional materials; the wide fluid spaces and the structures are easy to organize and maintain (the walls between the classrooms / laboratory can be dismantled and assembled so as to be able to unite or reconfigure the spaces at will); mainly natural lighting and ventilation if necessary assisted by a mechanical system combined with heating and air-conditioning systems realized with heat pump systems.
The furnishings are in small part designed ad hoc (the bookcases around the pillars and the play-furniture of the rooms for children), but mainly are standard.
The garden is designed as a place of refreshment, recreation and recreation for all library users: next to children's areas, it offers to them games (sand, game tables, game of the goose), seating and paths with funny profiles, immersed in the thick of existing trees. A vegetable garden is placed in the strip with the best exposure for illustrative and educational purposes, also for school children in the surroundings. Young and old can relax in the sun in the outdoor dining area or in the large lawn where you can freely arrange small tables and chairs, or dedicate yourself to reading and studying in the shade of the trees on special tables, equipped with power outlets.