BANYOLES COUNTY LIBRARY – BCQ

BANYOLES COUNTY LIBRARY

The new county library of Banyoles is strategically located in an area of the city to be recovered as an element of continuity between the old town and the Eixample. A clear, simple and compact volume is proposed, in line with the surrounding buildings, without loudness or elements that can compete with the environment. The new building is composed of two volumes, one that corresponds to the current volume of the convent and that is born from the main facade of the church, and another paired with it at a lower height that accompanies the route between the free space of the Wall and the Plaça Mas Peraseca with a new green space.

The proposal recognizes and reinterprets the elements of the current building. The concept of the cloister is recovered as a space of relationship between the different levels of the building, as a communication space and as an ambulatory. The current convent’s bell tower can be seen from this zenitally lit courtyard. The existing lateral courtyard is enhanced as the main access space to the library by redefining it as a large porch space.

Water, traditionally a leading element in the urban environment, is recovered, creating a watercourse that accompanies the facade of the library between the public space of the Wall and Plaça Mas Peraseca with a new promenade.

FIRST PLACE IN PROJECTS RESTRICTED COMPETITION