A WOODEN ROOM IN WHICH TO READ A BOOK

ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION - JAPAN 2009

"In omnibus requiem quaesivi, et nusquam inveni nisi in angulo cum libro"

"Everywhere I have searched for peace and nowhere found it, except in a corner with a book."

Thomas De Kempis (1380-1471) German Theologian. 

REMOTENESS 

CONCEPT

This work attempts to encourage reading through ritual stimulus. The reader will be able to recognize the place which will protect him from the contemporary chaos.  He will also get involved in the infinite world of knowledge and simultaneously discover the horizon and the sky. This space springs up again as a clue to spiritual growth and knowledge shelter. 

PROPOSAL

By means of simple elements (column – step), arranged in a linear way, more complex matrixes will be created in a whole piece orderer, which will generate an infinite progression. These elements are not only a mixture of some geometric abstract models but the result of a rigorous analysis of the visitor’s behavior in a wooden room. Each element represents one of the stages that allows the reader to interact within the wooden room.

RITUAL STAGES

1.      Approach: The visitor will head to the wooden room, attracted by a mysterious light framed of a tenuous penumbra.

2.      Discovery: The reader enters the wooden room and goes up. As he goes higher the space gets narrower. Then, the person will discover a library hidden in the frames which are at the same time, columns and steps. At this point the reader would be able to choose a book.

3.      Concentration: After the reader crosses the door, he will be involved by a ray of light. The individual will find a space surrounded by an opaque light, the light of knowledge.

4.      Reflection: The reader will be able to contemplate the horizon by finding the balance between the intellectual and physical worlds.

5.      Awareness: After seeing the horizon and the sky, the individual will be aware of the existence of eternal, remote and indestructible universe.

6.      Communion: After having received the knowledge, discussion and debate will be held among the individual and other readers in order to continue with the endless search of the truth.

1.      SYMBOLS

Matter: Permanent, immutable, eternal.

Stairs: Difficulty, effort, raise.

Order: Free will, origin and end, the place of man in the universe.

2.      MATERIALS

      The room will be made of clear wood like the oak. This kind of wood will help reflect the light on the walls, fact that will evoke something eternal and secret. The room must be everlasting, that is why it is important to use time-resistant material.

3.     ELEMENTS

The wall step: This element has been developed because it is necessary to have an enclosure component that will allow the individual’s concentration on the front but also deals with certain difficulty while going up.

4.     THE ORDER

The elements will be controlled by a centralized cruciform structure that addresses the chamber in four opposite directions, centrifugal and centripetal. This will guide all the axes to and from the center.

TEAM DEVELOPMENT : 

ARCH. OSCAR CONTRERAS

G.D ANDREA VILLADA