National Library Board

National Library Singapore

Singapore, Singapore

The new 102-metre high National Library building, completed in July 2005, consists of two blocks separated by a day-lit, semi-enclosed internal “street” and connected by bridges at the upper levels.  The larger block contains the library collections and sits over an open-to-the-sky, naturally-ventilated civic plaza, with opportunities for ‘outdoor’ events and cafés (and another for multi-media, programming, etc).

The division of the brief into two halves generates spatial differentiation of what’s inside, outside and "on the other side."  It presents the library culture as being more fun, that the building can become an urban motivator for civic activities, that a library becomes a “place for the people”

Significant attention has been paid to the key factors in lowering energy embodiment costs of the building and lowering environmental impact in the building as compared to the typical office building.  The total energy embodiment of the building (being its “first costs”) was calculated to be 17 GJ/m2, which is within generally accepted benchmarks for commercial buildings [ie. between 10-18 GJ/m2].

Simulations were also conducted on the energy consumption and building performance of the design.  Results show an energy consumption rate of around 185 KWH/m2/annum, which is less than typical commercial office tower (230 KWH/m2/annum) in Singapore.

Our design approach also involves the holistic consideration of the careful selection of green materials used in the designed system and the endeavour by design to reduce the impact of this on (and its integration with) the natural environment, over the life cycle of the designed system.  The use of recycled and reused materials generally (such as carpet, wall fabrics and sustainable-forested local timber) contribute to an environmentally low impact design.

Awards
2005 Singapore Green Mark Platinum Award
2005 World Association of Chinese Architects Gold Medal

Project designed by Ken Yeang prior to joining Llewelyn Davies Yeang.