Libraries. I love them. From the upcoming post on the Richelieu library in Paris, to the British Library in London, to the main library in Amsterdam- I will never tire of these spaces where we read and learn and study. The human’s development of language is so unique to our biological species (Terrance McKenna’s take is fascinating), that it does deserve some respect for the housing of it, whatever it’s consequence. (Maybe need a list of libraries I’d like to visit before I die- better be a short one. Or maybe it’s planning to spend a day at one of these libraries rather than just a visit.)
Even with that list of exceptional libraries above, this place is beyond words. It would be hard to choose between all of these spaces I’ve been to now- 145 spaces at least, a few scheduled to be posted and at least a dozen more to write about- but there’s no way that this wouldn’t make the top 10 (making it the second building from this Mexico City trip to achieve that astonishing status). When I planned the trip to Mexico City and was beyond surprised by the amount of great architecture, there was no building I was more excited to visit than this one.
I started this blog because of my love of the cantilever and Biblioteca Vasconcelos defies gravity to the next level. From any angle- whether standing at the center axis of the length of the building or anywhere along the walkways on the many floors looking across the width of the building- it seems that depth is every present as you can see almost anywhere and everywhere. Everything is hung from above (or has the perception of being so), rather than supported from below.
There’s a color palette in this building- muted green for the structural pieces which also carries into the panels for the walkway areas. The color reminds me of being on a military ship. The translucency of the walkway caught my attention when I saw the shadow of the steps from someone above me, and though I ran to catch a photo- I was never able to.
The network of walkways, split in two lengthwise by the end to end atrium of the building, felt very intimate as the floor to ceiling height is quite low. The opportunity this provides is a close look at the joints of the structural elements. Nuts and bolts, all exposed in the simplicity of their construction- no tricks.
My hunch is that there’s no HVAC in this building. On this hot day, doors to various porches and balconies were left open to provide some air cirulation. To further confirm this theory, the bathrooms have panes with open slits to the outdoors- likely for the same purpose. The fixtures were so industrial. I think even if the world came to an end, this place would still survive.
The muted background of the structural elements and translucent floor made an excellent backdrop to the colors of the books, but also to the flash of the color magenta from the ceiling skylights. With so little decoration- which I appreciate that attention to severity in it’s design- the blast of color brought me back to the one resounding impression about Mexico City… how color seems to look different to my eyes there.
Just as functional as its structural design, the common spaces are highly functional as well. Lots of places to sit and work- no place feeling too crowded, even if at some point were this place to be at capacity.
I think in ernest this place started a new practice for me of taking photos of evacuation plans, diagrams of the space and other graphic representations of the spaces. This set of sections were especially interesting to me because the building is split down the center, so they have a section for each side as distinct from one another. Most of the times buildings will provide floor plans rather than sections. The only other one that I can recall is the Tate Modern providing a section rather than a plan.
The photos above represent the first and last photo I took of Biblioteca Vasconcelos. I had a feeling it would not be the last time I was there. In other posts, I’ve written about knowing it’s the last time you’ll be somewhere- but not this place. And of course, once I returned home I read about this part of the library: https://www.archdaily.com/721188/carlos-monsivais-personal-library-slash-jsa-arquitectura. So no excuse needed, but now happily one in hand.
Address: Eje 1 Nte. S/N, Buenavista, Cuauhtémoc, 06350 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Website: Archello write-up
ofallthespaces 