Donalda-Charron Library

Atelier TAG + NEUF architect(e)s

Short description

At the heart of a large-scale natural environment, the Bibliothèque Donalda-Charron aims to build upon adjacent site conditions, favouring a landscape approach through which the library’s interior is read as both a continuous and integral part of the surrounding park. Hence, ideologically, its architecture aspires to create an absolute democratization of the space, actively promoting an enhanced relation with the context. In continual osmosis with the surroundings, interior spaces extend outwards into courtyard, gardens and outdoor public facilities.

The library’s social and technical programs are arranged in the landscape as pavilions contained within a glass case. The cores house the closed rooms, freeing the rest of the building from partitioning constraints and fixed functions. On the northern side, the gentle, diffused sunlight of the workrooms provide a calm haven. Taking its cues from the energy of the play area, the southern core houses the activity room. The eastern core, directly connected to the urban square and capable of functioning autonomously, contains the multipurpose room and becomes the Plateau’s cultural showcase.

Thanks to the creation of an environment which speaks to the senses and the spirit, the library becomes a forum contributing to community dialogue, to individual well-being, and to living together in a place of cohesion and belonging which is rooted in its territory.