Library in Buk

The library in Buk, located in the eastern part of Reszki Square, open to the outside and providing light and space appropriate for the institution, will emphasize the importance of this place on the cultural map of the city. Together with the planned thermal modernization of the existing Library and Cinema building, it will constitute a coherent whole. An intimate facility connected to the existing cinema and library will not only facilitate access to the collections, but will also help develop the social function of the library.

The library in Buk occupies a building that also houses the Wielkopolanin cinema. The building stands among trees, in the middle of the triangular Reszki Square, located near the Market Square (Plac Przemysław). The cultural facility is the result of the reconstruction of the neo-Gothic Evangelical church, which has stood on the square since the mid-19th century.
In 1962, after the tower was demolished and the interior of the naves was adapted, the temple was transformed into a community center combining traditional forms with elements of modernism. Two wings were also added – wider than the body of the adapted church: representative, front and rear – administrative. Since 1970, the Wielkopolanin cinema (front part) has been operating in the western part. However, the library operates in unsatisfactory conditions on the eastern side. There is no space for a functional rental shop, a warehouse or a real reading room. The new wing is to be added to the eastern part of the building, where the entrance to the library is currently located. The architects tried to optimally use the available, small space and at the same time save as many trees as possible.

The spatial limitation was high greenery, technical infrastructure and the adjacent road. Another limitation was the rather modest budget.
The new part on the ground floor will house collections and a reading room for adults, and on the first floor – for children. The modified rooms of the old building will house the administration and rooms for processing collections, as well as facilities for pro-social activities: publishing committees, societies, organizations. The new floors will be higher than those in the existing building. After the expansion, only the high ground floor rooms of both parts will be on the same level. The connector will be a spacious passage created after enlarging the existing doors and windows.

Due to problems with height differences, the architects designed a three-way elevator. Although the building basically has one underground and two above-ground floors, the crane will stop at more levels, also adapted to the floors in the old building and the glazed entrance zone located lower than the ground floor, at ground level.
The added part will be covered with a shed roof sloping towards the eaves of the roof of the old library and with a similar inclination as it. However, the new roof slope will be covered not with roof tiles, but with a light-colored sheet metal similar to the color of the façade. However, at the junction with the old part, below the photovoltaic panels, a longitudinal skylight was designed in the roof, which will brighten potentially the darkest place in the facility and enrich the play of light and shadow in the interior. The interior furnishings will also be bright, enlivened with accents in expressive but soft colors. Such an accent is, for example, the main staircase, whose floors and plastered walls are to have a color similar to the ceramic roof covering of the old building.

The light color of the entire expanded cinema and library building will also have a calm character. Another element of the project is the thermal modernization of the old building.
We unify the new and old parts using the same color of the façade, but we distinguish the new wing with a different, clearly differentiated texture of the wall made of foam glass. However, in the old part, we will discreetly mark the outline of the windows of the former temple in the plaster. The color of the window frames will also differ. In the old part, it will be the same color as the facades, and in the new part – the profiles will be highlighted with a subdued golden shade.
In front of the transparent entrance to the library located on the south, an intimate green square with small architecture will be created. The older part will be enriched with a small technical and utility space from the north.