The National Library of Greece in Athens is part of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre, due to open in 2015. As library design specialists, AMA worked closely with the Foundation and the architects Renzo Piano Building Workshop to fully understand the requirements of the new library building, and to refine the designs to ensure functional, yet adaptable spaces and organisation across the Library. The project encompassed a wide range of learning spaces for all age ranges from story-telling areas for youngsters, through to rare manuscript vaults for academics.
To increase book capacity, functions, and range of spaces to the existing National Library of Greece, the design had to be rigorously analysed for future-proofing against a multitude of possible scenarios. Detailed research and evaluation enabled articulated design of furniture across the varying spaces, and a multitude of learning environments for its visitors. This process considered everything from the required robustness and lifetime of material coverings dependant on location, through to determining the optimum reader desk dimension and group arrangements. Where furniture was bespoke, such as the impressive bookcase design and feature librarian desks, a thorough design and evaluation process involving precedent studies, models, and ergonomic analysis was developed.
Images © 2013 Renzo Piano Building Workshop; Artefactory
© 2010 AMA Alexi Marmot Associates
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