01
Entrance & Stair
Leaning planes of dark stone, a timber stair and lines of light at their base.
Conceptual
C18 | Library Museum
Location
Beirut, Lebanon
Type
Library & Museum
Status
Concept design
The idea
Dark planes cut through light.
A concept design for a library and museum in Beirut. Tall planes of dark textured stone lean across a double-height white volume, and a line of light runs along the foot of each wall, so the route between them reads at night as well as by day. A timber stair rises between the planes to the upper level.
Classical busts stand on dark plinths with silver cabriole legs, set out along the stone wall in the light from a tall steel-framed window. Beyond them, a reading lounge sits on a timber floor, and a long gallery of lit timber fins and open shelving runs beside a glazed wall, with low armchairs facing the view.
Material palette
Charcoal stone
Leaning wall planes
Rosewood floor
Reading lounge
Pale stone floor
Entrance route
Lit timber shelving
Book gallery
03
Book Gallery
Lit timber fins and open shelving beside a glazed wall.
About the project
A route of stone, timber and books
In this concept design, the visitor enters between angled stone walls, with the stair climbing in the gap they leave. The route continues into the sculpture hall, where a row of busts follows the wall and daylight enters from a tall window. Past the sculptures, the space settles into a reading lounge, and further on a gallery of books runs alongside a glass wall, with seating turned towards the outside.
Charcoal stone gives the leaning planes their weight, and its rough surface takes the light at its base. The entrance route is laid in a pale stone floor, so the path reads clearly between the darker walls. In the reading lounge, a rosewood floor brings warmth and a quieter feel underfoot. The book gallery is fitted with lit timber shelving, which turns the shelves themselves into a source of light. The project was proposed for Beirut, Lebanon.
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