The internal flexibly of OMA's library
in Caen, achieved through movable
infrastructure and screens integrated at
shelf level, allows the building’s interiors
to respond to the needs of users.2016
BIBLIOTHÈQUE ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE
Koolhaas and co.'s use of the diagram as
a design tool in Seattle would extend to
another project, this time in Europe: the
Bibliothèque Alexis de Tocqueville in Caen,
France. Responding to the local need for
public facilities, the cruciform 12,000-m^2
library was to become a civic and cultural
centre that comprises an auditorium, a
restaurant, exhibition spaces and a view-
ing terrace. The logic behind the library’s
distinctive shape applies to its appearance
within and without. Its four geometrical
branches offer views of four urban contexts:
a canal, a park, a new town development and
Caen’s historical city centre. Programmati-
cally, the two intersecting axes establish a
spatial division that separates four fields of
knowledge – human sciences, technology,
literature and the arts – which overlap in a
main reading room. Surrounded by panes
of curved glass and an acoustic lacquered-
aluminium ceiling, the central void was
imagined as a hub of activity carved from
a solid mass of library books. Constructedfrom white semi-translucent resin, the
bookshelves remain below eye level, thus
enabling clear sightlines across the library
floors. In a further attempt to reimagine
the digital library, OMA embedded screens
that make virtual books equal to the printed
versions placed next to them. Because all
units are movable, the library can curate its
content and change its spatial configuration
over time in response to the requirements of
the city and its citizens.160 LIBRARIES