The State library has changed its role to a public meeting space and gathering point rather than a traditional library for middle class in the old time. It seeks to open more to the public, blending itself to the public realm. Since the National Gallery and Melbourne Museum have been moved out from the State Library Site, the space was interpreted into part of the Library.

 

Connections should be brought back to its urban context. Buildings are still figural but the ground lost its urban pattern in the urbanism late 20th century, said Peter Eisenman. The void spaces are now lacking in the central of Melbourne, where in the mid of the city only the streets defines the block’s edges. Where the activities and events should take place on has been filled with the concrete cover. Social and civic meanings are lost in this sense. These spaces in between should be recovered and revitalized.

 

 

The project was thereupon conceived as a maze of the Melbourne city through the study of the city strip. The study strip was made by having the linear axis from ground zero GPO to those proposing programs in the city (Centre of Adult Education, Learning Laboratory, Wheeler Centre, Conference Centre and Exhibition Space).

 

Spatial sequences and punctuation of the programs on strips were extracted and translated into architectural spaces. Throughout those trajectories, grand urban moments were analysed and hybridized into the void spaces between the programs.

 

The design intends to compose spaces with both the analysis of the city strip and the resulted brief of programs. In this consequent, the proposing programs are to be condensed and allocated based on the spatial sequences on the city strip, results the hybridisation of the both.  A continue spiral system as a strategy has been applied on the design to wrap the whole site taken from the original perception of the state library of Victoria.

 

Melbourne vibrant urban moments were selected to impact architectural languages via the journey in the space. The culture and spirit of the city, and its archaeological text thus are embedded onto the project.

 

The design of the project is also inspired by the poetry novel “the Library of babel” by Jorge Luis Borges, which suggested the endless, non-stopped institutional “One Big Room” to house the memory, knowledge and activities. The idea encourages interconnection between the design and its urban context, communications across floor to floor, conversations among behaviors and activities.

 

To characterize the symbolic of the iconic dome for every corners of the site, three cuts through the architectural envelop of the design has been made. It maintains the representation of the classic architecture and its urban icon. The space have been cut creates different aspect of spatial quality than others which functions as connective spaces between the design and the civic public.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Open, permeable featured landscape stimulate transformation of its urban context as an urban venue in the city of Melbourne. The design of ground level was perceived as a temporary urban venue to accommodate performance, protest, market spaces and recreational inhabitations. It slopes down from the corner of Latrobe and Russell Street to the middle point of the block to meet little Lonsdale street, which ties up the context and the urban life from all edges. The amphitheater centralizes activities on all corners, while the sunken plaza to the exhibition space and the absence of the ground plane raise the perception of linkage between the design and the original state library, and reveal the urban gesture in the urban context.

 

The original part of the state library would be housing the remaining artwork. While the Queens’ hall has been translated into museum space, south wing are accommodating local artist’s studio and Sculpture Park in the void. The opening to Latrobe Street are embracing Melbourne grander activity and connecting to RMIT Bowen lane.

 

The cut of the building creates an outdoor terrace amphitheater on the Latrobe street edge while a pub and visual connections have been made through on the other, and it generate double height mezzanine space for idea sharing, city life and inter-communication. Laneway aspect is also translated into architectural spaces proportionally as connectivity through the classrooms for center of adult education.

 

Cafes and urban elements were in a way translated into the void of the programs to accommodate urban life and activity in the conference center, stimulating the multi-use of the function rooms and theatre space for community and public uses.

 

Void space and the program insertions are in this case creating different spatial quality within the volume, and connecting one another with both horizontal and vertical circulation.