REIMAGINING LIBRARIES AS REALMS OF LEARNING

As knowledge continues to change hands and forms, libraries needed to evolve too. Akanksha Gupta, Partner, Vijay Gupta Architects, has devised a framework for transforming libraries to adopt a more agile layout and include a holistic mix of these spatial typologies

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For centuries, libraries have played a huge role in the preservation and propagation of culture. As the treasure trove of knowledge, libraries have been responsible in part for written language itself being created and refined. In fact, many nuanced systems of documentation and organisation of data can trace their roots back to library science.

That said, the nature of information is changing. Books are no longer the sole standard of epistemic credibility, and the written word itself is mutating in its expression as we enter a digital age. Bite-sized information available within seconds of request is the antithesis of book-based research – does this mean that the institutions tasked with collecting books are facing their end?

Architectural morphology would indicate the opposite. While knowledge continues to change hands and forms, the need to make it available to a wide audience remains constant. Through years of research as well as hands-on application at varying scales, we have devised a framework for transforming libraries that includes the following:

Flexibility and Adaptability 

In order to encourage collaboration and exchange, libraries must adopt agile layouts. Drawing from Dr. David Thornburg’s theory of archetypal learning spaces, the library precinct can be re-imagined as a composition of three zones. These include:

1. Instructional spaces, where one absorbs information through direct engagement