The Cultural Library

Chinatown, Melbourne

In response to the rapid commercialisation of Melbourne’s CBD, the public library should be a space that reconstructs the preconception and historic typology of the library as a scholarly, colonised institution to a communal environment that acts as multi-purpose space with enhanced program to initiate community involvement and social/cultural.

In performing its public service, the library should combine both spaces for meeting and socialisation as well as a sanctuary to find safety, solitude and comfort in extending the public arena and being accessible to all demographics.

By increasing the program of the library the library aims to initiate social and cultural exchange in an already rich and vibrant site. Acting as a centralised point and a cultural hub, the library should be treated as a node of an expanding public system that enhances accessibility to all demographics, connecting with the public transport routes of the city as well as being convenient for CBD dwellers via its walkability.

As part of a larger civic system, the library should do its part in collaborating with its network of public services and be a free, adaptable space for temporary events and installations to be accommodated.

The library should serve as a place of meeting, with transparency to the street providing visibility and relaxed divisions. Extending from the library’s responsibility to the city, sustainability is a key concern that will be addressed both for the benefit of the native ecology and its human occupants.

The key challenges of climate change, population growth and urban heat effect should be addressed to increase the longevity of the library and the city.