resistance , making it suitable for cyclic loading situations , like in its seismical active location . From an electromagnetically sensitive viewpoint , both glass and polymer are inherently nonconductive , so they won ' t attract lightning strikes . The overall building is calculated to cope with strong earthquakes and has a pressure resistance , comparable with the load hundreds of meters under water , making it resistant to avalanches or a large rolling stone .
SACRED ARCHITECTURE
The library was envisioned to be more than just an underground book repository . It needed also to touch the realm of the sacred . Not in religious terms but rather in the notion of free space , where the mind can wander through the spatiality of nothingness , the void . The inner ' empty space ' was mould on a geodesic dome , a multidimensional pyramid . Physical confrontation is a vital factor in the experience of the library . Its architecture is based on a fundamental one-to-one experience of space , and will continue to survive even when long lost its content . The project is a reaction on the contemporary cultural mindset , which lost its anchoring in past traditions , long-term thinking , but most of all , many of human ' s values and integrity . It hopes to transmit a message of hope towards many young people who are struggling the conceptual storm of our uncertain times and deeply disillusioned with the spiritual emptiness of industrialized civilization . The project supports however the driving force of the development of civilized mankind , thinking that the impetus is right , but not the course . The project ' s goal was to transcend the predicaments of the human condition , by producing an architectural womb that is strong , timeless , deeply rooted in its local context and universal . To do so , things and experiences were researched that do not change in design , questioning the dictums within the Egyptian , Roman , Moorish , Christian , Jewish , and other ancient cultures , with the wish to reinstate them in the realization of the library as a small cultural temple . In many ways the project is as much about making sense of our world , as it is about reflecting what we should do , or how to prepare for a cultural shift .
The library was constructed in the winter of 2012-2013 by Alex Brimmell & Son ( dome builders ) with a team of volunteers from the Beneficio eco-village near Orgiva . The project was helpfully coordinated by Mark Knight ( author ), and developed by Louis De Cordier ( visual artist ).