An exploration of how a public library can transform a leftover space and expand the dynamism of Bristol St Phillips

“We love the idea of understanding what it is that makes a place legitimate locating value in some scrappy piece of ground without any definition to it” – Julian Lewis.
Julian Lewis’ words sparked my third year project focused on reviving leftover spaces across the site of St Phillips Marsh in Bristol that will undergo one of UK’s biggest regeneration scheme. With the development being majorly centered around mixed-used and white collar development, I am proposing a public library that sits near the railway wall of the train in a passive piece of land that has no assigned purpose.

Drawing on its proximity to Bristol Temple Meads, my goal is to captivate people attention from the train prompting them to take second look at quite a peculiar approach of the building to wonder what lies inside. This prompted the library of exploration inciting them to step into the temple of knowledge.

The scheme offers a large range of programmes ranging from the hush and quiet reading rooms to louder programmes of the exhibition space and children library. Using 4 different aims with circulation as discovery, hidden playful reading room, the façade as mystery, and signage as a luring element, I aim to create an atmosphere that enthrall and beckons individuals into the library. These four key elements lead to a lightweight structure that elongate the site with signage on its north façade where the explore “Explore where the search ends and knowledge begins” is projected onto a curtain glass with its effect being dynamic. However, on the south façade, the library is concealed behind the existing trees where you get fleeting peeks of the library with each step bringing a new revelation. As an ode’s to Bristol’s industrial past and The Marsh History, the project celebrates it through subtle touches of industrial furniture and the exhibition space found on the 3rd floor aiming at educating the community on its past.

The proposal provides an opportunity for leftover spaces to become asset for the community and become part of the built environment through community buildings such as libraries that provide access to information and life-long learning.