Bermudez Arquitectos – Tintal Public Library

PROJECT: Bermudez Arquitectos – Tintal Public Library

LOCATION: Bogotá, Colombia

YEAR: 2001

ARCHITECT / FIRM: Bermúdez Arquitectos

BUYER: Corporación Andina de Fomento (FAC) / Secretaría de Educación de Bogotá

SURFACE: 3.600 sqm

PRICE: € 2.625.000

DESCRIPTION:
The public library ‘El Tintal’ results from the reuse of an abandoned waste management plant, transforming it´s 5 hectare plot on the Avenida Ciudad de Cali with Calle 6 into a public park. The conserved structure was an industrial bay of 25 meters wide and 72 meters long, with a total area of 3.600 mt2, located on two levels of considerable height. It´s solid concrete structure of large spans could be conserved and adapted to the new use, exploiting its robust and industrial character. A 75 meters long ramp leading up to the second level, which served for the unloading of the waste trucks, was converted into a mediating element between the library and the park and now marks the entries to both floors. On the upper floor, a monumental reading room is created, 7 meters high and crowned by seven gigantic skylights that, oriented to north, receive maximum natural lighting without capturing direct sunlight. The ground floor level is organized around a generous hallway, lit by a sequence of alternating rectangular and circular windows. It connects all of the libraries dependencies, including the children´s library at one end and an auditorium at the other.

DESCRIPTION:
The intervention creates a completely different program from that of the original building. Designed to house up to 200,000 volumes and 580 readers simultaneously, the library consists of 925 m2 of reading rooms, 600m2 to house the main collection, a newspaper library and a reference room, each 200m2. The children`s room is designed for a 100 readers and 30.000 volumes, a small cultural center, an auditorium for 150 people, an exhibition room, bookstore, cafeteria, and small shops.

DESCRIPTION:
The project was financed between the Secretaría de educación de Bogotá and the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), which was in charge of managing resources for the city`s library network BIBLIORED.

- SURFACE present NO VARIATION,

TOTAL CONSERVATION / CONTINUITY: The overall dimensions are equal to the pre-existing surface.

- VOLUME present NO VARIATION,

TOTAL CONSERVATION / CONTINUITY: The overall dimensions are equal to the pre-existing volume.

DESCRIPTION:
Previously a 3.600m2 two-story building with a solid concrete structure, wide dimensions between columns and considerable height, it became posible to adapt it as part of the structure of the new library. The new project resembles the industrial and robust appearance of the former building, and the overall dimensions of the proyect are equal to the pre-existing volume.

DESCRIPTION:
Even though the existing concrete structure was reused for the design of the library, the new interior spaces have completely replaced the pre-existing. The goal was to achieve maximum eficiency and funcionality, contemplating natural light and ventilation. The industrial nature of the previous structure was maintained and determined the ditribution of spaces, as well as formal and structural aspects of the project.

DESCRIPTION:
Maintaining the original voids, there is a mezzanine that accommodates offices, audio and video libraries. The technical areas are located outside the main volume, directly adjacent to the central circulation and cabling core, obtaining maximum efficiency. The original grey concrete structure was conserved and made visible, whereas the new structural and architectural elements are cast in white concrete.

DESCRIPTION:
The grey concrete of the original structure is conserved, whereas the new structural and architectural elements are cast in white concrete and subsequently bush-hammered to highlight the texture of the concrete´s limestone aggregate, on which light is reflected with great intensity. Other materials such as wood, brick and metal complement the predominantly concrete building.

DESCRIPTION:
The project maintains it´s robust and industrial character through it's overall image. At the same time, natural light devices are carfeully placed so that maximum comfort is achieved, as well as panoramic windows that frame the most notable parts of the distant landscape: Bogotá´s sabana and its eastern mountains. The plan is completely open, assuring absolute flexibility, as well as an impressive visual and spatial clarity in the project.