LYS1
At night, the building lights up like a lantern for Højbjerg’s cultural centre, revealing its warm and welcoming interior.
Name
LYS1
Client
Høbjerg Bibliotek og Lyseng Idrætsforening
Status
Concept
Time span
2024-
Location
Højbjerg, Aarhus
Size
4.300 m2
Type
Library, Culture, Sports, Community Hub
Budget
N/A
Partner in charge:
Thomas Bossel
Mads Rudi Lassen
PAX Team:
Andrea Margadji
Mia Linding Møller
Mathias Brockdorff
Architecture:
PAX Architects
Landscape:
PAX Architects
Visualizations:
KVANT1 + PAX architects
Funding:
Lokale og Anlægsfonden
The vision is to unite the Højbjerg Library with sports facilities in an existing sports area. This opens up a unique opportunity to create a unified building where sports and culture merge and benefit from each other's qualities. The decision to create a shared building provides a exceptional opportunity to create a very special place where new users are invited into and where unexpected meetings bring people together.
LYS1 offers a diverse environment where movement and culture merge, in fascinating spaces that support daily use and embrace new possibilities, both physically and culturally. It is more than just a library or a sports centre; it represents a modern interpretation of a community centre, where people and activities meet and interact in a lively informal atmosphere.
The interlinking of different functions that are not normally found together creates an environment that promotes informal meetings and attracts a wide range of new users. Visual connections and new spatial variation change the perception of the library as a traditional bookshop or elitist institution, and invite visitors into a welcoming and vibrant community center – a modern community hub.
LYS1 aims to strengthen the local community and wants to reinvent the library as an attractive meeting place for all age groups. Double and triple height spaces create new connections between functions, and inspire visitors to explore and discover.
With the project, we wanted to transform the library from a "traditional bookstore" into a living community center - a relevant and relevant meeting place for everyone.
At dusk, the building lights up like a lantern for Højbjerg’s cultural centre. Like a softly luminous curtain, the perforated facade draws the framework for the many indoor activities that take place in the house even after dark. When darkness falls, the facade around the arrival plaza will appear bright and alive and bear witness to a house in motion. The appearnce of the facade changes according to the time of the day.
Concept/ Ideally the layout of the library is organized on one floor only for optimal flow and great overview. The other functions: martial arts, democratic square, fitness, spinning, sports halls, and common functions are typically organized in a compressed arrangement.
We propose a “flowing” three-dimensional space forms the library and common functions with a view to and from the other functions that are connected visually and spatially in this way.
When different functions willingly move under the same roof, a strong community is created - a free space for new ideas and new meetings.
The children’s zone is a unique and very important part of the library. This playful space is arranged with big landscape-like furniture for both playing, creativity, teaching and of course reading. Views to the other functions of the community centre makes this building full of exploration.
The Performative Garden
To the west, the building steps down and is met by a green, softly cultivated landscape for exercise and recreation.The soft landscape is shaped by surplus land, which is arranged in landscape islands, so that paths and outdoor spaces arise between them.The green islands are themed with local flora that basically have to take care of themselves - perennials, herbs and grasses ensure a high biodiversity for the beautiful green area that surrounds the library.The soft forms contrast with the building’s orthogonal design language and contain functions such as outdoor fitness, playground, parkour, beach volleyball, padel, pétanque and a pavilion that can be used for teaching, gatherings, theater etc.Through the islands, a path of SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) is created as a performative landscape adding a blue element to the performative garden.
We want to create a community hub where the meeting between sports and culture bring people together.
The existing sports buildings are connected with a landscape approach that unites the entire area, through green programmed islands that invite for movement, play and learning. The landscape extends all the way between the buildings and forms a lively plaza.
Siteplan/ A green space for mind and movement/
At dusk, the building lights up like a lantern for Højbjerg’s cultural centre. Like a softly luminous curtain, the perforated facade draws the framework for the many indoor activities that take place in the house even after dark. When darkness falls, the facade around the arrival plaza will appear bright and alive and bear witness to a house in motion. The appearnce of the facade changes according to the time of the day.
The large multifunctional library space / Archive as an exhibition / The library's art collection / Martial arts / View from sports to library, nature and work spaces.
The building appears like a lantern and changes character with the change of seasons and time of day. In winter, the light facade merges with the frosty landscape, and the building’s warm interior emerges clearly.
The library and the democratic square create a fluid space that connects the entire building, where visual connections to the building’s other activities inspire for further exploration.
Double height and triple height spaces are amongst the spatial qualities for the interior of the library. This extraordinary variation in space welcomes the individual needs of the visitor and allow them to explore.
By the entrance of the community centre a small café is situated adjacent to the outdoor recreational urban space meeting the other buildings of the cultural campus.
The building is designed with views between the merging functions. From the plaza of the building, you can see both the fitness area, exercise rooms, green roof gardens and library while enjoying a cup of coffee in the café.