Cultural centres and public libraries today are faced with rapidly shifting needs and requirements. The primary function of the public library has always been to act as a "centre for the dissemination and transfer of knowledge" and as a means to promote reading and provide a support to education that is as broad as possible. The new information technologies do not endanger this function of the library, rather they amplify it. So the public library also becomes an "information hub and laboratory", an access-point to the multimedia universe. But public libraries and cultural centres are also increasingly operating as a "social gathering places", points of reference and new town squares: spaces of encounter, communication, creation and consolidation of a sense of belonging to a collective entity which succeeds in countering exclusion and isolation. Today public libraries act as urban catalysts for the promotion of cultural policies, and may represent significant nerve centres not only within the whole cultural system, but also within the welfare system of a city. But if a library is to be successful, the building's architecture and the spaces and furnishings contained in it are just as important as the services offered. So the main purpose of this paper is to propose guidelines and examples for planning and designing public libraries, and to illustrate features and requirements not only from the architectural point of view but also from technical-functional one, with special regards to the activities, the uses and the needs of the library program. A new model of public library is presented, intended for the Italian present situation, and some Italian projects are described, trying to find some keywords for the design of cultural spaces in the city of the future.

Designing Public Spaces for Culture and People

MUSCOGIURI, MARCO
2013-01-01

Abstract

Cultural centres and public libraries today are faced with rapidly shifting needs and requirements. The primary function of the public library has always been to act as a "centre for the dissemination and transfer of knowledge" and as a means to promote reading and provide a support to education that is as broad as possible. The new information technologies do not endanger this function of the library, rather they amplify it. So the public library also becomes an "information hub and laboratory", an access-point to the multimedia universe. But public libraries and cultural centres are also increasingly operating as a "social gathering places", points of reference and new town squares: spaces of encounter, communication, creation and consolidation of a sense of belonging to a collective entity which succeeds in countering exclusion and isolation. Today public libraries act as urban catalysts for the promotion of cultural policies, and may represent significant nerve centres not only within the whole cultural system, but also within the welfare system of a city. But if a library is to be successful, the building's architecture and the spaces and furnishings contained in it are just as important as the services offered. So the main purpose of this paper is to propose guidelines and examples for planning and designing public libraries, and to illustrate features and requirements not only from the architectural point of view but also from technical-functional one, with special regards to the activities, the uses and the needs of the library program. A new model of public library is presented, intended for the Italian present situation, and some Italian projects are described, trying to find some keywords for the design of cultural spaces in the city of the future.
2013
Kütüphanelerde Mekan Tasarımı
9789751736949
Progetto; centri culturali; Biblioteche; architettura
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11311/842132
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