National Library Board

New National Library Board Building of Singapore

The proposed design for the National Library Board Building of Singapore was organized around several components. At the center is a large square-shaped "silo" containing information, books, and documents. This depository is enclosed by an arcaded reading gallery in the form of a cylindrical wall surrounding three faces of the depository block. A second wall, concave and stretching outward, opens on the northwest/southeast axis. This freestanding wall is stabilized by a series of buttresses, containing shops at their base. Readers' galleries are clustered in both wall structures and are connected by bridges over the Great Urban Room. The theater and shops face the sidewalks and the Great Urban Room. The roof of the Library is shaped into a concave surface.

Images on this page: 1 Elevation view of model; 2 Interior rendering; 3 Site section; 4 Site plan; 5 Concept sketch

Singapore

1998

Singapore

Competition
Modest Project

1998

Competition: Lost

9 - Other Projects

Educational

Image.photograph.colour
Image.sketch.black and white
Image.architectural drawing (visual work).colour

Government buildings
Architecture -- Specimens

Safdie Architects

© Safdie Architects. Explicit permission to use images is required. Contact the Communications Director at Safdie Architects (617.629.2100) for more information.