OdelisLozada

Salt Lake City Public Library, in Utah, USA, is one of the most important places of Salt Lake City and one of the most interesting buildings in the United States. This library offers to the community a huge collection of books and DVDs. The building was designed by Moshe Safdie´s Firm and opened to the public on February 8, 2003. In the next lines, I’m going to describe the horizontal and vertical circulation of this building and its surroundings. In the inside, you can see the architect “creates a variety of scales of spaces, from small and intimate reading areas to the grand spaces required for navigation and the recognition of the library's role in city life”. The main gesture of horizontal circulation is the five story lobby, which distribute the users’ traffic. The cover of each level is defined by the furniture and books accommodation which leads to the lecture areas, halls, bathrooms, cubicles, etc. But the way across the building is not lineal but radial as a result of the building shape. The furniture creates width corridors through each floor. Also there are bridges that connect the different halls.

The vertical circulation is integrated by two elements: a big spiral staircase and three crystal elevators. The design of the building makes the noisiest and actives areas of the library keep in the lower floors and when you go upwards, levels are quieter.

In my opinion, Salt Lake City Public Library is a really beautiful place. Its interior circulation responds to the buildings needs and makes pleasant the walk across the library. And the exterior path clearly defines two entries. These elements make the circulation efficient and enjoyable.

listen here

media type="custom" key="6524977"