The Bibliotheca Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt was built to commemorate the historical library of Alexandria which burned down after its slow decline which began in the 3rd century AD. The Library of Alexandria is known the be the largest and most concentrated place of knowledge in all of ancient history. Construction of the Bibliotheca Alexandria began in 1989 and was completed in 2001.The 11 story library can hold up to four million volumes of books, up to eight million if compact storage was to be used. Programmatically the project is very interesting as it consists of a planetarium, several museums, a school for information science, and conservation facilities. This project is largely characterized by its massive circular tilted-off-axis form.
“The main concept of the project is a disc rising from the water, representing the past, tilting towards the future, with the ground level representing the present
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| Main building of library complex. |
by a granite wall carved with letters from the alphabets of the world.”(1) The approach to the building is at its highest point where it rises over 100 feet above the ground level. The wall facing the city is completely void of any windows or reliefs, and allows no exposure of the building’s overall form. A footbridge which suspends above a 40 foot drop and continues clear through the heavy form connects the city to the nearby University of Alexandria. Along this route, instead of the suspension becoming the threshold, the structure itself becomes the point of change. The form sinks below the water table which is represented via the pool at the foot of the angled disk. “The design of the new library is both timeless and bold. Its vast circular form alongside the circular Alexandrian harbour recalls the cyclical nature of knowledge, fluid throughout time. It’s glistening tilting roof recalls the ancient Alexandrian lighthouse and provides the city with a new symbol for learning and culture.” This statement, when taken literally, can be quite misleading; instead it refers to an appeal to timeless, and universal form, both suggestive and unprovocative in its simple pure form. The Architects of the project, Snohetta, explain best the cultural weight of the project; “The project must cross barriers of politics, religion, culture and history. In order to accommodate this challenge we proposed a strong, symbolic iconography that would address basic human conditions that affect human society, such as the passage of time and our relationship to the planet we live upon. The circular form is one that is found in all cultures and is related to the heavenly objects where humans first understood the passage of time with relation to the movement of the sun, moon and stars. To express the passage of time, the building appears as a gently rotated disc passing into the earth and simultaneously above it. As it passes into the earth it enters the world we understand as the past. When it passes above the ground it enters the future. The rotation point is upon the ground at the present. The building is ultimately felt to be a frozen moment in time.’
Bibliography:
Hegazy, Ibrahim, et al. "The Living Building: Integrating the Built Environment with Nature Evaluating
the Bibliotheca of Alexandria According to the Challenge Imperatives." International Journal
of Low Carbon Technologies, vol. 12, no. 3, Sept. 2017, pp. 244-255.
The Bibliotheca Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt was built to commemorate the historical library of Alexandria which burned down after its slow decline which began in the 3rd century AD. The Library of Alexandria is known the be the largest and most concentrated place of knowledge in all of ancient history. Construction of the Bibliotheca Alexandria began in 1989 and was completed in 2001.The 11 story library can hold up to four million volumes of books, up to eight million if compact storage was to be used. Programmatically the project is very interesting as it consists of a planetarium, several museums, a school for information science, and conservation facilities. This project is largely characterized by its massive circular tilted-off-axis form.
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