'Busan Library', an outstanding growth type library with a future-oriented library aspect

Architectural Design in a Wonderful World_ A floating library with open public space that communicates and encompasses the surrounding environment and is worthy of being a knowledge creation platform that naturally blends with citizens in everyday life and interacts with knowledge culture.

The Busan Library, the first representative library built in the Busan area, opened on November 4 last year in Deokpo-dong, Sasang-gu. Built with a total area of 16,305.44㎡, two basements and four floors, the library has 111,969 books, including general books and children's books, and 7,589 non-book materials such as e-books and audiobooks. In addition, you can also enjoy 23 various online contents such as academic databases and music, movie, and drama streaming services, making it a complex cultural space for Busan citizens.

The overall elevation has a unique shape that looks like it is floating in the air by floating the lower floors with filotti. The exterior space is differentiated based on the elevation composition of the dynamic main hall composed of a soft curved curtain wall and a stable square mass. In particular, by securing enough public pedestrian paths that actively connect with the neighboring residential areas, the open structure that allows easy access to the library from all corners is sufficient to fulfill its role as a multi-cultural space.

It is also refreshing to note that the library's planning adopted a growth-type architectural system, allowing the rooftop sky park to be utilized as a shelter and exhibition space and to be expanded in line with the direction of future urban development.

The design of the library was carried out by DA Group Engineering & Architects and ING Architects, who were selected through a public competition. The designers aimed to create a complex cultural space that is not only a repository of knowledge and information, but also a space that is shared with the daily lives of all generations. In order to actively communicate with the urban environment, the design proposes to open the site to the public, create a floating library, and harmonize with the human-scale streetscape of the neighboring residential area through an articulated facade. The construction was carried out by BeomA E&C and Shin DongA E&C, and the supervision was carried out by Haenglim Architects and Jungang Engineering.

The interior space is organized into four archives and 11 specialized spaces. The front curtain wall of the main hall lets in plenty of natural light without compromising book preservation. The children's room is located on the ground floor for safety and is connected to the outside space. The library on the second and third floors is organized as an internal staircase reading space to facilitate movement between floors. The second floor is decorated as a gallery of the bookstore (comprehensive library 1) multimedia zone small talk room (club room), the third floor is the book nuri site (comprehensive library 2) Busan Aeot (Busan Studies Library) office Busan Hakdang (lecture room), and the fourth floor is a book cafe and wind shelter (outdoor rooftop garden) to add convenience.

The city of Busan organized a contest to name the detailed spaces in order to create a library that is friendly to citizens. Through the contest, Modlak (樂) (small theater), Hyeoyeummadang (meeting room), Dreamtlak (children's room), Book Maru (Library Room I with literary materials), Book Nuriter (Library Room II, where various materials such as general materials and foreign books will be housed), Sodambang (club room), Busan Aeot (Busan Study Library), Busan Hakdang (lecture room), and Wind Shelter (rooftop garden) were named.

At the time of its opening, Byun Sung-wan, acting mayor of Busan, said, “The Busan Library, the first direct representative library of Busan City, will become a new landmark as a complex cultural space in the western Busan region and the center of Busan's knowledge hub.” “We will continue to grow as Busan's representative library,” he said.

The Busan Library was also planned as a knowledge and culture-based community center library by the Busan General Planner. Professor Jun Hyuk Choi of Dongmyung University, who received the general plan for the Busan Library, was awarded the Busan Metropolitan Mayor's Award for completing the concept of everyday life as a knowledge culture space. At the time of its opening, Professor Choi Joon-hyuk said, “The Busan Library is valuable as a growth library with a future-oriented library aspect,” and evaluated, “It was designed by integrating all design elements such as interior space design, furniture design, and sign design.”

As evidenced by the concept of a complex cultural space that shares knowledge communication, Busan Library is a 21st-century knowledge creation platform that naturally blends with citizens in everyday life and interacts with knowledge culture. Since its opening, the Busan Library, which has prepared various civic cultural programs such as full-scale special exhibitions, civic reading promotion, small-scale literary events, and specialized book curation, has stably established itself as a library and a complex cultural space that produces knowledge culture for Busan citizens.