Beacon

(Tint Library Competition)

A library isn’t just a place where books are kept and lent. In villages, especially, knowledge is gained not just from books, but also from daily conversations. These conversations are closely associated with their everyday routine. It’s a pitiful state that there are still people in villages who aren’t literate; hence these daily conversations are pivotal in spreading knowledge. Our design focuses on these aspects; to be able to create a better ground and a better environment for these imperative discussions to happen. The existing interaction spaces and hotspots were studied along with the medium of knowledge sharing and the needs of the village. Our design intends to fuse the above to create a space that enriches the lives of the villagers. Another important aspect of our design was to create a module; one which could be used in other similar villages which spread all across ‘Mathiketan shola’. Many of these villages, if not all, face similar issues of trespassing animals which puts a lot of villagers’ lives at stake. Hence, using this modular design, villages all across the forest expanse can benefit without disturbing the natural landscape, the animals, or the people.

The intent was to create a modular structure that could be replicated throughout the context of Mathiketan shola. The concept is derived from the existing context and is addressed with contemporary architecture. The existing elements like the banyan tree which acts as a gathering place for panchayat and interaction, are inspired for designing a narrative space where the literate can read and narrate to people, more like a discussion space- OAT. There is a dire requirement for a watch tower as it’s crucial to protect the village from trespassing wild animals; being situated amidst a forest and plantations -Tower form. Similarly, the access around the hill is recreated for accessing the spaces -The spiral staircase. The Current site chosen is in the remote village of Aaduvizhunthan Kudi situated in one of the peaks surrounded by plantations and forest. The library also forms a prominent feature for such a village in the future. The functions are twisted into spiral paths. These spiral paths lead to the watch tower. The central path has stairs of 15 cm riser. The other paths accommodate books with a riser of 30 cm. The storage is placed at various heights for different user groups with audio/video services and charging points for plug-ins. The storage is hung from sufficient heights and is held at positions by the gear systems.

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