Re-design of Wellington Central Library

TOMB OF THE FORBIDDEN LIBRARY Wang, Gregory

WATCH TOWER

TOMB

- Vertical Structure

- Open Space

- Observing Nature

- Shallow

- The Spine of the building, unifying and holding the building together - Connects the levels of the building; it is the vertical circulation acting as the backbone of the building.

- The Watch Tower is seen from afar, and can be used as a point of interest to attract the public to the location.

Bright ball of flame that through the gloom of even Silently takest thine aethereal way, And with surpassing glory dimm'st each ray Twinkling amid the dark blue depths of Heaven,-Unlike the fire thou bearest, soon shalt thou Fade like a meteor in surrounding gloom, Whilst that, unquenchable, is doomed to glow

A WATCH-LIGHT BY THE PATRIOT'S LONELY TOMB; A ray of courage to the oppressed and poor; A spark, though gleaming on the hovel’s hearth, Which through the tyrant’s gilded domes shall roar; A beacon in the darkness of the Earth; A sun which, o'er the renovated scene, Shall dart like Truth where Falsehood yet has been.

- Horizontal - Dark - The ‘Tomb’ of knowledge - The Archive space classified as the dead; historic knowledge; knowledge of the past - The Watch Tower is the Guardian Angel, looking over the tomb.

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L2

L3

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L5

W A TC TO

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TO M B

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L9

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O TA R IR

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W EA A R LL S

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F L TO M + OO B R R O S O F

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W TR E U R C TU R

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so var en ugh iety sh cap t af of th ear sul ter stru Ad e no wa atio by ctu di tio lls n o my ral tio n a f d e na of re t be esi lem lly op ra ing gn en , a en ns s in ts vi ing itio itua ten are er u ne te t. u en p d d O s de . A in w n t ed el n to ith he to tr em br in g em us p a a ro p s i ha ce to un ha s u sis d f mb d si til on ram . A flo ze iz t e s or th ed he s w s e in no to e m hea arc or tio all ov r w hi de n ow e a tec r t of th up lls tu o th e w a ra cr e up ar re l n ea to p ds u a te m er , l sed rra a b i flo ate to ti la s t o ra e ve rg he rs l v e re to lo ok op fo a ad e en re llu r the at en re esis ri ha to ti um n ng sp ced ac . e.

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8

Ground Floor Rooms/Spaces

1. Entrance Landscape

18

7

2. Bike Parking

13

3. Returns Office 4. Ramp to Underground Archive

17

5. Bag Storage

10

6. Self Issue Kiosk

16

7. Reception/ Librarian Kiosk

14

12

8. Quiet Study Room / Elderly Room

15

11

9. Terrace Levels (GF to L2)

11

10. Open Plan Office

9 4

11. Office Toilet 12. Office Kitchen

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5 14

10

13. Emergency Fire Exit

1

14. Fire Egress Stairs 15. Elevator Shaft 16. Disabled Toilet

13

3

17. Unisex Toilet 18. Cafe

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GROUND FLOOR PLAN

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Level 2 Rooms/Spaces

8

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1. Children’s’ Area 2. Main Collections

6

3. Terraced Circulation & Collection 4. Librarian Kiosks

9

5. Study Pods 6. Stairs to L3

12

7. Visual and Audio Collection

11

8. Civic Square Viewing Platform 9. Unisex Toilets 10. Disabled Toilet

3

11. Elevator Shaft

12

5

12. Fire Egress Stairs 13. Elevated Study Area

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4

2

13

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LEVEL 2 FLOOR PLAN

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Level 3 Rooms/Spaces 3

5

1. Roof 2

2. Stairs Down to L2 3. Main Collection 4. Elevated Study Area

6

5. Open Plan Educational Area 7

6. Unisex Toilets

9

7. Disabled Toilet

8

8. Elevator Shaft 9. Fire Egress Stairs 9

1

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LEVEL 3 FLOOR PLAN

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LEVEL 4 FLOOR PLAN

LEVEL 5 FLOOR PLAN

7

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LEVEL 6 FLOOR PLAN

2

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Level 4 Rooms/Spaces

Level 5 Rooms/Spaces

Level 6 Rooms/Spaces

1. Fire Egress Stairs

1. Fire Egress Stairs

1. Fire Egress Stairs

2. Unisex Toilets

2. Unisex Toilets

2. Unisex Toilets

3. Disabled Toilet

3. Disabled Toilet

3. Disabled Toilet

4. Elevator Shaft

4. Elevator Shaft

4. Elevator Shaft

5. Crush Space

5. Crush Space

5. Kitchen/ Tea Room

6. Lecture Theatre (80)

6. Lecture Theatre (40)

6. Open Plan Office

7. Table Space for Tea

7. Table Space for Tea

7. Shelf Space

8. Services Riser

8. Services Riser

8. Services Riser

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LEVEL 7 FLOOR PLAN

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LEVEL 8 FLOOR PLAN

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LEVEL 9 FLOOR PLAN

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Level 7 Rooms/Spaces

Level 8 Rooms/Spaces

Level 9 Rooms/Spaces

1. Fire Egress Stairs

1. Fire Egress Stairs

1. Fire Egress Stairs

2. Unisex Toilets

2. Unisex Toilets

2. Unisex Toilets

3. Disabled Toilet

3. Disabled Toilet

3. Disabled Toilet

4. Elevator Shaft

4. Elevator Shaft

4. Elevator Shaft

5. Lobby

5. Office Lobby

5. Restaurant Kitchen

6. Equipment Room

6. Private Offices

6. Restaurant Dining

7.Security

7. Services Riser

7. Services Riser

8. Additional Rooms 9. Services Riser 10. IT Room 1000 0

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PERSPECTIVE SECTION

ENTERING THE TOMB OF THE FORBIDDEN LIBRARY

ARCHIVE

STAIRWAY TO LIGHT

STUDY SPACE L2 EAST FACADE

TOMB OF THE FORBIDDEN LIBRARY

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN REPORT The re-design of the Wellington Central Library has been a topic of discussion for the past year due to the closure of the buildings as a result of earthquake damage.

Over the short history of Wellington, the Wellington Central Library has changed buildings several times; all within the vicinity of the current site.

The Tomb of the Forbidden Library Based on the Sonnet “A balloon laden with knowledge”, authored by Percy Bysshe Shelley, the architectural narrative of the re-designed library is derived from a single line from the sonnet - “The Watch-light by a patriots lonely tomb”. From this line two architectural bodies are extracted in the form of the Tower, and the Tomb; together igniting the fruition of The Tomb of the Forbidden Library.

The tower of the library is primarily planned for spaces which require privacy and segregation from the main library space. The functions or spaces which occur in the tower can be expressed as the required support for the operations of the public library. Functions include vertical circulation, the core of the building, toilets, office spaces, lecture theatres, security for the premise, etc. The vertical circulations is emphasised by the use of shear walls and is interpreted immediately through the accent of the handrails expressed on the exterior of the building (refer to perspective section). The tower is located on the south side, at the main intersection between Victoria Street, Wakefield Street and Mercer Street, and is the gateway connecting the city to sea. The tower acts as a focal point and immediately, the public users of the space recognize that the space below is the main entrance to the library. Architecturally the entrance is not a volume itself, but is created through subtracting from the landscape. This decision was made as adding an additional volume would detract from the narrative of the tomb and tower pairing.

In the Tomb, mezzanine floors surround an open atrium space, placing a visual focal point directed towards the sunken archival space. The archival space holds a small collection of archives for Wellington and New Zealand. The purpose is to portray the archival history of New Zealand as the “dead” and buried beneath the modern day world. Often history is forgotten, however, history is placed as the focal point of the library. Terraced floors at the north of the tomb acts as vertical circulation for the disabled, as well as floor area for book shelves to be placed. The terraced floors are designed to create a gradient of time, ascending into light, and portraying the advancements of mankind throughout time. The bottom of the terracing will therefore be older books with early history, and ascending into modern books with recent history. As the sun sweeps across the north facade, the books casts shadows on the atrium floor, changing in directionality as time moves on. The shadows represent the passing of time and as another day passes, history is created for future generations.