Patrick Ventker & Mario Runkel

We chose the design competition as our senior thesis project. We were not qualified to partake in the design competition because one of the application requirements was to include completed projects.

On account of the time pressure, we were not able to visit the city of Montreal and the site. Therefore, a major part of our work consisted of the analysis and focus on the actual design issues. Due to the initial small scale analysis of the project, we were able to expand the original design competition to include ideas in city planning. We looked beyond the building lot to develop an inner city growth plan. The building designed by us creates the impulse and basis for the future development of the entire neighbourhood, as well as for the city of Montreal.

The library as a public building combines complex functions. It is a place of storage for knowledge and therefore has a strong representative and conservative function. Additionally, it has to make the knowledge available to the people and to be flexible for contemporary ways of presenting media. Within the library, space enveloping functions and activity areas abut storage areas, whose main function is to store books and other media. Out of this we developed the idea of merging communicative spatial space-intensive functions with the concentrated vertical stacking of the books. This creates a place of integration between books and communication.

The book tower turns the building into a library. It anchors the building in Montreal's skyline and is the city planning impulse for the densification of the area. The central communication space in the horizontally oriented structure anchors the library in the city. It gives the building its inner face and allows for harmonious interaction between inside and outside, up and down, foyer and city. A visitor to the library should be able to perceive the space, set and find destinations, discover his own curiosity, develop a sense of ownership from using the opportunities provided.

The design is not based on a formal concept, but rather the result of an urban analysis and the desire to facilitate the various complex activities in the building.

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