A
ntik çağlardan günümüze kentlerin vazgeçilmez yapılarından
kütüphaneler, 20. yüzyıl başlarından bu yana değişen bilgi
ve haberleşme teknolojileri sayesinde gerek mimarisini gerek
ise işleyişini sürekli güncelledi. Bu gelişmeler devam ederken
kent yönetimleri de modern kentlerin simge yapısı halini alan
kütüphane binaları için atağa kalktı. Bu bağlamda gerek formu, gerek
kullandığı çağdaş malzemelerle son yıllarda çokça konuşulan, 2004
yılında OMA+LMN tarafından Seattle, Washington, A.B.D.’de uygulanan
Seattle Central Library (Seattle Merkez Kütüphanesi) projesi örnek olarak
gösterilebilir.
İsrail Ulusal Kütüphanesi projesi için başkent Kudüs’deki Giv’at Ram
bölgesinde İsrail Parlementosu ‘Knesset’, İsrail Müzesi, çeşitli bakanlık
binaları ve Kudüs İbrani Üniversitesi yapıları ile çevrili bir alan tahsis
edilmiş. Hareketli topografyası ile bilinen Kudüs’ün tarihi çekirdeğinin
batısında yer alan arsa. İsrail Devletinin ulus kimliği ve yönetim
organlarını elinde tutan bu binalar grubu şehirdeki yüksek bölgelerden
birine konumlanırken, inşa edilecek olan İsrail Ulusal Kütüphanesi’nin
YENI KÜTÜPHANE BINASI IÇIN YAKIN
ÇEVRESINDE İSRAIL PARLAMENTOSU
‘KNESSET’, İSRAIL MÜZESI, MALIYE BAKANLIĞI,
İÇ İŞLERI BAKANLIĞI VE KUDÜS İBRANI
ÜNIVERSITESI YAPILARI ILE ÇEVRILI BIR ALAN
TAHSIS EDILDI.
THE NEW LIBRARY BUILDING WILL BE CONSTRUCTED
IN AN IMPORTANT PARCEL ADJACENT TO THE ISRAELI
PARLIAMENT ‘KNESSET’, ISRAEL MUSEUM, MINISTRY OF
FINANCE, MINISTRY OF INTERIOR AND THE JERUSALEM
HEBREW UNIVERSITY.
TOPOGRAPHIC
KNOWLEDGE
RAFI SEGAL’S COMPETITION WINNING PROPOSAL
FOR THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ISRAEL MERGES
THE TOPOGRAPHY, ECOLOGY AND HISTORIC
STONE LANDSCAPES OF JERUSALEM.
L
ibraries have been an integral part of civilization since the days of the
ancient library of Alexandria. The emergence of public libraries in the 19th
century in Europe and North America were instrumental in the development
of modern, democratic societies based on knowledge. In the 21st century
information and communication technologies have transformed the
public library further to become electronic hubs as well as a source for physical
printed books. In fact many local authorities are now creating media center –
library hybrids as symbolic structures in the center of cities to define a vision
for 21st century urban life. In this perspective, the Seattle Central Library, Seattle,
Washington, 2004 by OMA has been cited as an example of architecture for the
library of today emphasizing transparency, light and technology.
A similar approach can be seen in a competition-winning proposal for
the National Library of Israel by Princeton, U.S.A. and Tel Aviv, Israel based
practice Rafi Segal Architecture Urbanism who were the surprising winners of
a two-stage competition organized by the Board of Directors of the National
Library of Israel in early 2012. Although Segal’s winning proposal was later
supplanted in a controversial way by the organization committee his design
was clearly an advancement of the library typology in a building ideally
suited to the historic setting.
The design brief for the original competition was meant to address two crucial
needs. First there was the goal to move the existing National Library (1960) from
its current location within the Hebrew University Campus to a new lar