CLAD news
IMAGES COURTESY OF BAF AND CARLO RATTI ASSOCIATI
The design explores ‘the future role of libraries as social spaces’
BAF and Carlo Ratti scoop futuristic “library as a town” project
C
arlo Ratti Associati and Bio-architecture Formosana (BAF) Architects have been selected to design the
newest addition to the Taiwan
National Library and Repository. The firms beat nine other competitors to secure the commission. The new public building, set to be constructed
The facility will house a library, book museum and archives centre
on a wooded plot in Tainan, will feature both as a monument and as a kind of educational town. In a statement, BAF said: “The concept of library as a town was
openness of learning and the
a “book-bot”, an automated storage
from the original plot in order
‘museumisation’ of the library.”
and retrieval system (ASRS).
to demonstrate how built
The planned space, which
inspired by the humbleness of the
will explore the future of open
A solar canopy will regulate the building’s temperature, providing
environments can be harmoniously integrated into nature. BAF says the library of the future
context while creating a ‘town’
access learning, will function
library-goers with shade while
as part of the town fabric. Three
as a book museum and archives
harnessing clean energy.
main ideas drive the creation
hub, inviting people to freely
of this chance encounter: the
explore Taiwan’s digital records
the surrounding campus will
for “community-driven, muse-
integration with nature, the
and observe what BAF has called
preserve 90 per cent of trees
um-like spaces and activities”. ●
36 CLADGLOBAL.COM
BAF has also indicated that
should be both an energy-efficient park and a “hub of open learning”
CLAD mag 2018 ISSUE 4