The Name of the Rose : Addressing institutional placelessness through the design of a new Arcadian public library

Abstract

A placelessness defines the architectural expression of our public institutions; the sterile, the predictable and the generic characterise the experience of spaces that are meant to celebrate the identity and the ideals of a society. A pervasive and global condition helps contribute to the contemporary urban condition of sensory impoverishment and existential homelessness. As a means of addressing this condition of institutional placelessness, this dissertation proposes the design of a new community library in Venning Park, Arcadia. Through a celebration of the typical and essential character of the library type along with the critical application of June Jordaan’s place-making triad, this new library offers an alternative to contemporary architectural trends that generate placeless institutions and erode the relevance and autonomy of the public library.

Description

Mini Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2019.

Keywords

UCTD, Institutional architecture, Public Library, Placelessness, Place, Order, the Typical

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

Kirsten, PS 2019, The Name of the Rose : Addressing institutional placelessness through the design of a new Arcadian public library, M(Prof) Mini Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/72577>