Lorenzo Borgato, Georg Bariamai und Einar Helander

HafenCity Universität Hamburg

This project is the result of a teamwork that combined several experiences of three different people coming from three different countries. For this reason, at the beginning, the city of Hamburg was a completely different environment, but its beauty caught us, and the will to understand it, encouraged us to explore it in many ways. We noticed how the parks play a key role in the city’s spaces. In detail how the relations between people and nature are a crucial life aspect of every citizen. Our project is a tridimensional work that combines the landscape’s naturalistic aspect to the functions that a library should provide.

We started planning from the ancient building’s shape, and we ensured to match it with the existing neighboring buildings. We also discovered that many beautiful paths drive you to the place, so we created free outdoor spaces that allow you to feel the quiet and the vibrant atmosphere of the open-air room. A person walking to the library from Dammtor train station would see this volume growing slowly from the ground, in a way that makes it look more like a green hill than a tall rocky mountain. Inside, the functions are separated between the public and the private, but they all have access to the rooftop where paths in a garden provide an alternative way to reach the functions, and offers many places to exchange into open-air activities.