Central Archives and Art Library

Location: Cologne GE
Client: City of Cologne
Area Gross: 41.000m²
Building Costs: n.s
Assignment: Competition 2011 Finalist

The dominant high security archive storage halls are located in the central part of the site which receives no daylight.
They form the spine around which all spaces are laid out that require daylight or an interface with the public. The administration offices are clustered in pavilion units which interact with the library reading plateaus and the space continuum of book stacks.

Funnel like open courtyards provide daylight to the offices and create sculptural highlights for the reading spaces.

The facades facing the main road and the central park are hyperbolic parabolic surfaces with a network of small apertures.