BIBLIOTECA DOS SABERES, PROJECT : KÉRÉ ARCHITECTURE
The
first project carried out by Francis Kéré in South America, the future
Biblioteca dos Saberes in the old Cidade Nova neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro,
will serve as a landmark for the revitalization of this emblematic port district
located between Valongo Wharf, renowned for being the landing point for African
slaves in the 19th century,
and Little Africa, the centre of Afro-Brazilian culture.
“This
library,” so Keré notes, “is developed around the city’s history and culture,
from the samba that gets the body moving to poetry that touches the heart. It
is a house of knowledge that belongs to everyone, a place where past and future
meet under the same roof, open to the city and the sea that carries its stories
across the world.”
At the focus of the project, which extends over an area of about 40,000 square
meters, stands the 'tree of knowledge,' a vertical cylinder inspired by the
native trees of the Tijuca forest surrounding the city and by the symbolic role
of the trees in Guando, the hometown of Francis Kéré in Burkina Faso, where
trees serve as community cogregation places.
This
structure connects the building's three floors, which house reading rooms,
libraries, workshops, exhibition spaces, an auditorium and a café. Activities
are organised in a sequence that develops from calmness to liveliness: reading,
sharing, meeting, performing, creating.
On the
outside, the building features observation decks, outdoor spaces, shaded
courtyards, a covered amphitheatre, a café and a rooftop garden. A footbridge
will connect the library to a monument dedicated to the anti-slavery resistance
leader Zumbi dos Palmares. The perforated façade provides shelter against the sun,
while the rooftop gardens and tower contribute to the building's cooling and
passive ventilation systems.
Client: Rio de Janeiro City Hall; Lead Architect: Francis Kéré, Kéré Architecture; Design Team: Mariona Maeso Deitg, Juan Carlos Zapata; Contributors: Nik Bürk, Teresa del Arenal, Alice Furlanetto, Pierre Jules Gagnière, Federico Lenghi, Andrea Maretto, Pablo Sanchez Sanus, Yannick Schütte, Zeno Wolfsteiner. Rendering: © Kéré Architecture
