Library and Community Center Sant Antoni

The Joan Olivier Library and senior center in the former industrial district of Sant Antoni is located within one of the typical Barcelona blocks. Dominating the blind street facade is a wide passage that invites passersby into the interior of the residential block, where the architects designed a new square and arranged public functions around it. Above the entrance, glass blocks are wedged between two metal towers, serving visitors and partly the library staff. Inside the block, a tall brick chimney, a remnant of a former factory, competes with the impressive entrance. A narrow strip of reading rooms for daily newspapers and magazines winds around two sides of the new square on the ground floor. Projected metal blinds help shade the glass-walled rooms. The space between the facade and the vertical black strips resembles traditional Spanish galleries. Steel is favored by RCR, and they apply it thoroughly in this project as well. This material was used for the facade, through the staircase, shading, and even for the furniture. The subdued dark tone and calming chill of the material sharply contrast with the colorful geysers of the surrounding apartment buildings. To keep a large part of the square free, a portion of the building program (the competition originally included an unbuilt office building) had to be squeezed underground.