Songdo Library Competition Entry

The Songdo Library Competition Entry is a proposal that looks to the future by learning from tradition, designed by Manuel A. Monteserín Lahoz for Songdo, South Korea. The project seeks to maintain a balance between the traditional use of a library and the new uses demanded by contemporary citizens, organizing the building around three distinct yet complementary spaces. The first is a “silent space” for concentration, quiet reading and meditation. The second is a “collaborative workspace” where people can study and learn together. The third is “The Plaza”, a great cultural forum to communicate, expose and share.

This three-part structure reflects how the role of the modern public library has widened well beyond book storage. Contemporary libraries increasingly act as civic anchors, holding space for solitary focus, group learning, and open community gathering under a single roof. Reconciling these competing acoustic and social demands is one of the central design challenges of the building type, and the proposal answers it by giving each mode of use its own clearly defined territory rather than forcing them to compete in one open hall.

Rooted in Hanok Tradition

The library is inspired by traditional hanok construction. Its access floor rises three meters above ground level and becomes independent from the ground, with an open parking lot placed at ground level. This raised approach allows natural ventilation and avoids the aggression to the ground that digging basements entails. A wooden structure and a ceramic tile roof enable a quick and clean construction, and they also give the building the ability to be disassembled and recycled if necessary in the future.

The building further adapts to its different orientations. The south facade’s deep eaves protect the interior from direct sunlight, while the north facade is closed with a curtain wall to ensure maximum light. This climate-responsive logic is a long-standing concern in the architecture of Songdo and across South Korea, where seasonal extremes reward facades tuned to each compass direction. Developed by a team including Lucía de Ancos, Virginia Herrera, Javier Simó, Ignacio A. Monteserín Lahoz, Aman Rai, María Mallo and Yeonghwa Choe, the entry shows how an old building craft can still shape a forward-looking civic place.