CHP LIBRARY IN COPENHAGEN.
The new Library project is the result of inspirations coming from the study of town planning and from the architectural evaluation of the buildings around the project area: their relation to the context, the form and material category, their link with the waterfront, with regard to the current as well as the past situation, through pictures showing how the town was previously structured in that specific area. The new Library project shows two buildings with different size and height, rectangular plant, pitched roof, quite sloping in this case, typical geometry not only of that place but also typological theme strongly established in the construction culture imagery as a building archetype. The supporting structure is made of laminated timber portals, hooked to each others by braces and to the horizontal lofts. The external perforated metal sheets cover works as a double skin and cover almost entirely the building; the “skin” is cut, where needed, to favor a consistent natural light access and to create prospective views inside the Library. Under the perforated metal sheets an empty space is left to guarantee a thermoregulatory and ascendant air streams control. The perimeter walls are wooden made with natural insulating material inside and with the thickness needed to limit the heat loss as much as possible. To finish the stratigraphy of the building envelope, the transparent parts have been made with low-e glass. The building employs the greenhouse principles, where the light entrance and the consequent buildup of heat due to solar radiation, contribute to the comfort of the users, integrating light and heating from mechanical systems. Building portions with a less favorable exposure have predominance of blind walls with openings allowing to guarantee a sufficient daily natural light. In this case the perimeter walls have a bigger thick for the thermal balance with their thermal inertial contribution. The main entrance of the Library is on the Toldboldgade, it opens into a teak essence wooden paved square, with a floor light line indication that guides the visitor to the reception. It is possible to enter in the Library also from the bookshop-café, which is in the lower building. The Library portion that includes the bookshop and the café, continue to independently work also when the Library is closed, it is a meeting point for everyone who wants to continue to read a book in a pleasant night, or to have a nice conversation and a glass of Hyldeblomstsaft or a pitcher of beer with friends. On the ground floor there is the children area with multimedia totems with monitor, headphones, game console, and further to them there are tables with pc to consult and read the online available books. It is possible to use cards to be left to the reception in order to come and go and be able to use the green areas directly adjacent to the Library. At the first floor there are: an area to consult the available titles both books and e-books, a room for audio/video materials and a reading/studying area. To complete the floor al location: toilets and a relax-zone for a more comfortable reading. The reading room has a privileged view on the Opera House. The second floor includes multimedia and reading areas. From the second floor three rooms can be reached, they’re not connected to each other, to give the guest a more domestic experience of the Library, both in terms of size and exclusivity. The Library, in light of its limited dimension, cannot host a huge number of titles, therefore it has an electronic archive and an on line link with other libraries archives, to order texts, get the electronic copies, work with them and save them in a dedicated section, where the Library becomes an i-cloud for its users.

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