The Peckham Library in London, UK was designed by Alsop & Stormer Architects and opened in 1999. It aims to challenge conceptions of libraries as intimidating spaces and create a welcoming community hub. The design features an L-shaped layout with a double-height reading room on the fourth floor providing views of the city. Enclosed pods on columns house meeting rooms, a children's area, and an Afro-Caribbean study center. Natural light and ventilation are maximized through a glass facade and open floor plan. The library aims to be a respite from the social challenges outside through its bright, sustainable design.

1. By
Sumaiya Islam

2. Submitted By- Sumaiya Islam
(152081002)
Course Title- Design Studio 5
Course Code- ARCH351
Submitted To- Ar. Mehreen Hossain
Lecturer, Architecture Department

3. What is Library?
 Library is a building or room containing collections of
books, periodicals, and sometimes films and
recorded music for use or borrowing by the public or
the members of an institution.
Design considerations
 creating quiet spaces.
 Providing enough natural and artificial lite.
 Clean and clear circulation.
 Providing ambience and perfect atmosphere.

5. Background
 Designed for: London Borough of Southwork
 Location:Southwark, south London, UK
 Date built: 1999
 Design: Alsop & Stormer, Architects
 Area: 24,750sqft
 Awards:Stirling Prize winner, 2000

6. Location
 The library is situated
between Hill Street and
High Street in the area
known as Peckham
Rye,creating a boundary
for an outdoor plaza
area along with the
Troughton MacAslan
Arch and a fitness
centre.

7. Social Context
 Peckham has traditionally suffered from high levels
of unemployment and crime rates.
 gang violence is common here,Therefore the front
façade is covered by pre-patina copper plates to
rampart against violence and degradation coming
from the district
 it is in total contrast with the mood of the outside life
which is stressful, noisy and violent.
 Between its walls, Peckham Library recreates a new
society for people who could wish to escape from
the grey world they are living into.

8. Site And Surroundings
 The site is
East-west
oriented.
 Bus stop
Peckham
Fitness
center
Market
Peckham
Space

9. Access
 Can be accesable
through vehicle,
pedestrian and
cycles.
 It is just beside the
main road which Is
connected to
another large
road.
 The ground level
arcade creates a
cross axis to the
Arch, expressing a
‘circular hub’ for
pedestrian access.

10. Concept
 Challenges conception
of library as “daunting”
and “ hermetic”.
 Derived from L shape
form.
 Acts like “Container &
Contained”
 Main focus was to
create equality.
 It was Designed on the
basis of site’s social
context.

11. Design Considerations
 Sustainability
 Natural
 Lighting
 Ventilation System
 Energy Consumption

12. Entrance
 The reading room
creates a deep
overhang beyond
the footprint of the
building, providing
a large, covered
open area for the
public in front of the
entrance.

13. Plan
The ground
floor level is a
double height
space
containing a
reception desk
and an
interview space
for community
advice.

14. The floor above
ground floor
has the
multimedia
center as well
as staff offices
and amenities.
During busy
hours the
second floor
can be used as
overflow study
space.
Plan

15. The main reading
area is in the fourth
floor and a double
heighted space.
There were
sensible
justifications for
placing the reading
room above street
level, not least that
it freed up the site.
However the main
advantage of the
arrangement, and a
major success of
the building, are
sweeping views
across the city that
allow residents of
Peckham to know
that they are in
London
Plan

16. Afro-Carabbean
library
Children's Room
Meeting Room
Plan

17. Section
The vertical stack of the offices and
the horizontal bar of the reading space
form an L-shaped “bookend” that
leaves the void of the landscaped
outdoor square very pure.

18. Section
 The vertical block
emphasizes “transparency
and permanent ability to
reinforce the idea of the
horizontal block as its own
solid

19. Circulation

20. Interior
 comfortable chairs placed in
clusters throughout the
space, inviting you to sit
down and become invested
in a book.
 So within the public space,
there are small pockets of
very personal space,
changing as one person
stops reading and another
one begins.
 These pockets are mostly
under the pods and around
the columns
 One can easily associate
them to big wooden huts or

21. Library Interior

22. Seating Arrangements

23. The “POD”
 Three enclosed 'pods' are
located within the library
space; they contain a
meeting room, a children's
activity center and an
Afro-Caribbean study
center. The 'pods' are
elevated on columns and
are an efficient use of
space - they leave usable,
accessible space below
them while providing
private areas for quiet
study above the main
library floor.

24. Detail Structure Of Pod

25. Pod interior
Meeting room Children’s room

26. Façade Treatment
The north face of the building is completely glazed
with a grid of clear and vividly colored glass, This
provides an excellent combination of natural light
and colored tinted light within the library spaces.
The distinctive green of the copper cladding
contrasts with the orange tongue-shaped
attachment protruding from above the front of the
roof; this acts as a shade for the study center on
the top floor.

27. Light
 Light becomes another material
separating the area from the rest of the
library.
 The ceiling contains cut-outs and
niches to make the space airy and light.
 From the exterior, the windows and
skylights appear randomly placed. But
once inside the reading space, you can
see the natural lighting was really
calculated.
 Light falls into the space from around
the pods and around the perimeter of
the dropped ceiling. What a novelty to
read and work by natural light!
 The walls are painted a creamy white,
with light seeping in around the edges
of the ceiling through a gap between

28. Structure

29. Structure(column)
 The most obvious
structural feature of the
building is the large
overhang which is
supported by 6 thin,
slanted metal columns
giving it a dynamic and
destructed aspect.
 Viewers are perturbed by
the shape as the notion of
such a large load being
supported on such small
beams makes the
structure visually unstable
and therefore makes the
viewer uneasy but
nevertheless intrigued.

30. Material
 Variety of materials used
including pre-patinated
copper, steel, colored glass
panels and wood.
 The interior and exterior are
contrasting in nature through
materials.
 The red carpeting and the
various sitting pockets
under the pods makes the
interior cozy and
comfortable
 The copper and wire mesh
used on the exterior makes
the building rough and tough
and with the colored panels
this library becomes striking
to look at.

31. Sustainability
 The glass facade allows in natural sunlight, reducing the need for
artificial light.
 The structure is designed to allow for maximum air circulation to
reduce heating and cooling costs. The cheeky beret cap on the roof
cools and shades the ventilation shaft. The ceiling contains cut-outs
and niches to make the space airy and light.
 There is a lot of green spaces around Peckham library, contrasting
with the urban mood.
 The oxided copper does not need any chemical products to
maintain the surface
 The glass façade has multiple layers keeping the heat inside the
building.
 The building has no air-conditioning and this attachment is part of
the design that combines shading, natural ventilation and passive
cooling effects to produce considerable reductions in the operating

32. Thank You