AdrianaRuiz

** Salt Lake City Library, by Architect Moshe Safdie. **  Before I start analyzing the circulation system in the new Salt Lake City library, I would like to describe first the nature of the building I will be working on. This is a building formed by two (2) volumes that, in their union, leave a space that is used to create a private square with an amphitheater. The first volume, is actually a truncated triangle with glass facade and a solid parallelepiped; the second one, is a curved “wall” with perforations, which reminds very much of roman architecture (aqueducts and the Coliseum). Image #1 Image #2 About the circulation, the approach from a long distance is very obvious, in my opinion, since the building distinguishes itself from the others that surround it because of its form and size. According to the pictures I found, the people approaches to the library in 4 main directions that the architect took into account: 2 are oblique, one is frontal and the other one is in spiral. Looking at the Image #1, the first approach –from left to right- is from a green space, and the solid element next to the glass body makes the people turn and see that there’s something important around the corner. The road takes the people to the private square of the library and then to the entrance of the building, which is majestically made by the space left between the glass body and the curved volume. The second approach is the frontal one, and it clearly points towards this great opening covered with glass. The third one, which I consider the most modest, happens in the curved volume, with a rupture of the rhythm to create an entrance to the square, and then to the building. The last approach is not as clear as the other 3, since it implies a longer way and at the same time, allows the people to enjoy the different facades to find a surprise at the end (the private square). As we can see in the Image #3, this route is all about observation. People can see what is happening inside (including vertical circulations), but they have to wait to access this place. Even though, this does not make it less interesting. Image #3 Once inside the building, people find themselves in a “covered plaza”, or a big corridor protected by two elements that are very open and transparent to what’s happening in the main space. Horizontal circulation happens in a longitudinal sense, and the vertical circulation elements appear at the end of the space, as we can see at Image #4. Despite that, they are clearly expressed, so the way doesn’t become confusing and boring; the climax point is at sight. Image #4 The curved volume offers large balconies with a view to the main floor, and they finally connect with the other volume, giving the sense of unity (as we can see in image #5). Image #5 Resuming, this is a building that is connected very well to the outside, since the architect takes very much into account all the different ways to approach to it, and it offers many possibilities of inner connection between the volumes, accomplishing that, what is originally two (2) pieces, turns into one where circulation is clearly the protagonist.
 * QUIZ 4 **

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