PECKHAM LIBRARYLONDONAlsop Architects

LOCATION:LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

DISTRICT:SOUTHWARK

‘to create a building of architectural merit that will bring prestige and psychological boost to southwark .’ IT was designed to be striking, to make people curious about what lies inside, and to challenge the traditional view of libraries as staid and serious environments.

• Peckham has traditionally suffered from high levels of unemployment and crime rates.

• gang violence is common here  • Therefore the front façade is covered by pre-patina

copper plates to rampart against violence and degradation coming from the district

• ethnically diverse: Black African - 35.67%,  White British - 25.73% and Black Caribbean - 15.45%.

•  it is in total contrast with the mood of the outside life which is stressful, noisy and violent. Between its walls, Peckham Library recreates a new society for people who could wish to escape from the grey world they are living into.

SOCIAL CONTEXT

Road network

vegetation

Vehicles

Cycles

pedestrian

Trees

Ground cover

landuse

Building typology

G + 1G + 2G + 3G + 4

Bus stopPeckham Fitness centerMarketPeckham Space

FORM

• the architect wanted to create a building big enough to welcome a library and few offices, without looking too massive and heavy. The solution he found, was to raise up a part of the structure, so as to keep less contact with the ground as possible.

• This modification gives us a feeling of lightness, and in spite of this modification, there is no loose of space, its transformed in a covered external space, keeping the aim of the building.

• The north face of the building is completely glazed with a grid of clear and vividly colored glass, This provides an excellent combination of natural light and colored tinted light within the library spaces making it lively.

• The glass used is in contrast with the opaque metal used at the other side.

• It offers a unique and colorful view of London

• When exposed to the atmosphere, copper oxide film forms, changing the surface colour of copper from salmon pink to light green colour.

• aesthetically, it clearly makes the building stand out. 

• The cooper facade used as a protection against the violence of Peckham

PRE-PATINATED COPPER (EAST, SOUTH, WEST FAÇADE AND ROOF)

COLORED GLASS (NORTH FASCADE)

There is a contrast between the exterior and interior.

The exterior is more rough and bold with materials like copper, Stone,

steel, concrete, glass, iron while the interior is more warm, smooth and

welcoming .

There is an element of surprise

interior

exterior

• The most obvious structural feature of the building is the large overhang which is supported by 6 thin, slanted metal columns giving it a dynamic and destructed aspect.

•  Viewers are perturbed by the shape as the notion of such a large load being supported on such small beams makes the structure visually unstable and therefore makes the viewer uneasy but nevertheless intrigued.

• Under the big over hang created by the l shape of the building, there is a metal structure, made of wire netting

• It gives the area a dynamic aspect caused by the blended shape

Columns (structure)

Wire netting (structure)

columns

wire netting

• comfortable chairs placed in clusters throughout the space, inviting you to sit down and become invested in a book.

• So within the public space, there are small pockets of very personal space, changing as one person stops reading and another one begins.

• These pockets are mostly under the pods and around the columns

•  One can easily associate them to big wooden huts or ancient inuit canoes.

Interior- pods

reading pockets

1 2 3

4th floor section1- children’s room

2- afro-caribbean library3- meeting room

light

• The central pod has a skylight, you ascend into it through a spiral staircase

• light becomes another material separating the area from the rest of the library.

• The ceiling contains cut-outs and niches to make the space airy and light.

• From the exterior, the windows and skylights appear randomly placed. But once inside the reading space, you can see the natural lighting was really calculated. Light falls into the space from around the pods and around the perimeter of the dropped ceiling. What a novelty to read and work by natural light!

• The walls are painted a creamy white, with light seeping in around the edges of the ceiling through a gap between the ceiling and the wall.

• The glass facade allows in natural sunlight, reducing the need for artificial light.• The structure is designed to allow for maximum air circulation to reduce heating and cooling costs. The cheeky

beret cap on the roof cools and shades the ventilation shaft. The ceiling contains cut-outs and niches to make the space airy and light.

• There is a lot of green spaces around Peckham library, contrasting with the urban mood.• The oxided copper does not need any chemical products to maintain the surface• The glass façade has multiple layers keeping the heat inside the building

Sustainability

Red carpet and white walls, makes it warm and welcoming

The library certainly did contribute to the regeneration of the area. The pre-patinated copper, steel mesh and coloured glass, chosen for their vandal-deterring properties, give the building its sweetie-like appearance. Giant letters on the roof clearly announce its function as a library.

The library was designed to be an integral part of Peckham. The bright colours of the glass panels challenge the viewer to see the neighborhood in a new way. It doesn’t hide Peckham, it exposes it.

bibliography

www.bbc.comwww.wikepedia.com

http://peckham2.tumblr.comhttp://www.kme.com/en/peckhamlibrary

http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/peckhamInterior for under 5s by Melissa Jones

http://www.dezeen.com/http://www.arcspace.com/

http://archidialog.com/http://www.theguardian.com/

https://maps.google.comJapanese Interior Design by Michelle Gadindo