Urban Concept
The Library of the Future will be defined by its ability to collect and organize information, but also by its ability to network disciplines and people in an urban setting. In this way, the new building design is a linking mechanism at the urban scale. It visually links to the existing building in terms of height and width, and materially via an underground passageway. The new building also connects to the steep hillside of Observatory Hill via a bridge-like construction. This connection allows library visitors to access the historical Stockholm Observatory directly. Between the new building and the hillside is a Garden Plaza which allows visitors space to relax and contemplate away from the busy street of Odengatan.

The main entry of the building reflects the new urban conditions in the area, and is therefore directed toward Odenplan Plaza and the shopping and public transit links found there. It cantilevers out to the street line to create an inviting urban space where people can meet and orient themselves before proceeding inside.

Design Concept
While the external geometry of the building is based to a large degree on relations to the macro-environment, the key to the atmosphere of the project is its principal of cellular tectonics. Instead of reiterating the centered, stable, hierarchical principals of the Asplund Building geometry, the new building grows and evolves in terms of a non-linear geometry more often observed in natural systems. Cells are understood in terms of their interactivity in aggregate form, and their potentials for generating emergent structural and organizational effects. Cells vary in scale, thickness, and density, adapting toward performance and materiality without breaking their smooth formal gradient. A computer algorithm was used to generate a point of departure, a chunk of cellular matter with which to begin the process of evolutionary transformation.

The building can be broken down into a Cellular Shell, a Structural Hive, and a Circulation Net linking the two. The Structural Hive transmits and resolves vertical and horizontal forces, but also serves as an organizational mechanism, sprouting layers of stairs and bridges that connect levels. Hive cells vary in scale, providing opportunities for various types of inhabitation, from Reading Cells to Study Clusters, to other micro-programs.