Vojtěch Hybler - Moravian-Silesian Research Library Ostrava
atelier Mirko Bauma at the Faculty of Architecture RWTH Aachen - summer semester 2011
assistants: David Baroš and Adria Daraban
The Lower Vítkovice area is a national cultural monument located near the center of Ostrava in Vítkovice. Part of the extensive industrial complex is the existing coke plant, which is among the protected structures. It is difficult to preserve these objects as monuments in a sustainable state, which should serve as merely visual spectacles. Creating a library from such a structure that previously produced coke from coal was a huge challenge.
Before I considered the architectural design of the library itself, I was interested in how to clean the existing coke plant and extract only what I could truly use for further purposes. First and foremost, we have the coke ovens, which are 150 meters long. Their regular grid indicates the internal arrangement of the individual walls of the ovens, where boxes with books can be placed, thereby forming a fully automated repository. Another element consists of two existing 100-meter-high chimneys, which maintain a constant draft and can facilitate natural ventilation within the library. The conveyor that previously transported coal to the storage should serve for transporting people visiting the gallery. This storage, transformed in the design into a gallery, is almost a sculptural piece that today forms an inseparable part of the entire composition. My task was to supplement the existing elements with a new element that would not destroy this composition, but rather strengthen it. Since this is a long and slender structure, it was logical to build a tabletop-shaped object next to it, which in section balances the composition of the conveyor's diagonal, the chimneys' verticality, and the ovens' horizontality. This right-angled triangle is embedded in the composition against the chimneys, thereby enclosing the entire arrangement as a unified machine for books. The whole view forms a ratio of 1:2. The peak of the plate is as high as the chimneys, and the length of the entire library is the same as twice the height. The peak of the conveyor is precisely in the center of the entire ratio. The object is balanced but not symmetrical.
The internal space of the reading room reacts to the shape of the triangle and graduates toward the west. The reading room is completely open in the northern part, and visitors can observe the entire extent of the lower depth. The whole space is open and "disturbed" by columns, on top of which are reading platforms. Because the existing coke plant is subject to a strict grid, the new building respects this grid and behaves in its sense both in plan and in section. All details are purely technical. The geometry of the object defines the shape of the roof, which is walkable… the stairs to the sky offer a unique view of the entire complex and the city.
The Lower Vítkovice area is a national cultural monument located near the center of Ostrava in Vítkovice. Part of the extensive industrial complex is the existing coke plant, which is among the protected structures. It is difficult to preserve these objects as monuments in a sustainable state, which should serve as merely visual spectacles. Creating a library from such a structure that previously produced coke from coal was a huge challenge.
Before I considered the architectural design of the library itself, I was interested in how to clean the existing coke plant and extract only what I could truly use for further purposes. First and foremost, we have the coke ovens, which are 150 meters long. Their regular grid indicates the internal arrangement of the individual walls of the ovens, where boxes with books can be placed, thereby forming a fully automated repository. Another element consists of two existing 100-meter-high chimneys, which maintain a constant draft and can facilitate natural ventilation within the library. The conveyor that previously transported coal to the storage should serve for transporting people visiting the gallery. This storage, transformed in the design into a gallery, is almost a sculptural piece that today forms an inseparable part of the entire composition. My task was to supplement the existing elements with a new element that would not destroy this composition, but rather strengthen it. Since this is a long and slender structure, it was logical to build a tabletop-shaped object next to it, which in section balances the composition of the conveyor's diagonal, the chimneys' verticality, and the ovens' horizontality. This right-angled triangle is embedded in the composition against the chimneys, thereby enclosing the entire arrangement as a unified machine for books. The whole view forms a ratio of 1:2. The peak of the plate is as high as the chimneys, and the length of the entire library is the same as twice the height. The peak of the conveyor is precisely in the center of the entire ratio. The object is balanced but not symmetrical.
The internal space of the reading room reacts to the shape of the triangle and graduates toward the west. The reading room is completely open in the northern part, and visitors can observe the entire extent of the lower depth. The whole space is open and "disturbed" by columns, on top of which are reading platforms. Because the existing coke plant is subject to a strict grid, the new building respects this grid and behaves in its sense both in plan and in section. All details are purely technical. The geometry of the object defines the shape of the roof, which is walkable… the stairs to the sky offer a unique view of the entire complex and the city.
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