An Italian architecture firm has employed terracotta to create the impression that the library of Nembro is clad in shelves of spinning books. In 2007, Archea Associati built an addition to an old building erected in 1897 that the Municipality of Nembro wanted to convert into a library.
The new building, connected to the old building by the basement, is meant to be a contrast to the historical character of the original building, according to the firm. Archea accomplished this by constructing a screen around the otherwise-transparent structure. The screen is composed of 40 x 40 centimeter terracotta forms that resemble books on a shelf that are glazed in carmine red. The “book shelf” functions as a brise-soleil. The steel structure of this sun “diaphragm” allows each of the books to freely rotate.
“The choice of earthenware has been suggested precisely by the typical characteristics of the material, its performance as a screen protecting from light and its link to traditional building methods, but also by the contemporary image created thanks to the assembly technique and its durability,” the firm states of the project.
Above image: The Nembro Library in Italy by Archea Associati. Courtesy of the architects.
Freely rotating books made of glazed terracotta spin on a steel shelf that acts as a sunscreen for the Nembro Library in Italy. The building is the work of Archea Associati. All images courtesy of the architects.
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