NEWS
Library dedicated to Murakami
A LIBRARY dedicated to author Haruki Murakami will include a collection of his work in over 50 languages, books that inspired him and his favourite records. Born in 1949, Murakami was a theatre student at Waseda University and owner of a jazz bar in Tokyo.
The Waseda International House of Lit- erature, informally known as the Haruki Murakami library, includes a music room to listen to Murakami’s selection of songs, a radio recording station – which the author has himself used a number of times – and a replica of Murakami’s study.
Obama library underway
BARACK Obama’s Presidential Center project has officially started. The former president broke ground on the site he chose over five years ago in Chicago. The project, estimated to cost $830 mil- lion will feature an entirely digitised public library, host concerts, cultural events, summits, lectures, and include a children’s area, a fruit and vegetable garden, and teaching kitchen.
The project has faced extensive delays after the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office (HPO) required the project to have “additional design reviews” due to its impact on the 500 acre park it will be built in.
Judicial review granted
A JUDGE has granted campaigners per- mission to proceed to a full judicial review hearing into “government by WhatsApp”, where the arguments and evidence of both sides will be considered in full over the course of a few days. All the Citizens, supported by Foxglove, are campaigning against the use of ephemeral media by government minis- ters arguing that the Public Records Act 1958 requires communications between politicians, officials and advisors about gov- ernment business to be retained for review with key ones saved for historical archives. A date for the hearing has yet to be set. For more details
https://bit.ly/3n1nVQl
Picture © Alice Clancy 8 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL Picture © Ed Reeve
Community and learning inspired by design
A LIBRARY building that brings the value of learning and community cohesion together is this Year’s RIBA Stirling Prize Winner. Kingtson University London’s Town House won the prestigious architecture award after judges were impressed by the way the Grafton Architects-designed building put the user at its centre. The building features a library, archive, dance studio and theatre alongside an open area that meets the outside, creating a space that is welcoming to all users and which encourages contact and collaboration. Sir Norman Foster, Chair of Judges for
the Stirling Prize, describes the building as “a theatre for life – a warehouse of ideas. It seamlessly brings together student and town communities, creating a progressive new model for higher education, well deserving of international acclaim and attention.
“In this highly original work of archi- tecture, quiet reading, loud performance,
research and learning, can delight- fully co-exist. That is no mean feat. Education must be our future – and this must be the future of education.” Environmental impact has also been a key factor in the design. An external colonnade provides solar shading, cool- ing the building and reducing energy consumption. Solar panels have been fitted along with a large sustain- able urban draining system, two roof gardens and landscaping designed to support increased biodiversity. Kingtson University London’s Vice Chancellor Professor Steven Spier said: “We had an incredibly ambitious brief – to create a space for students that would allow them to benefit from knowing each other, a library to inspire learning, dance studios and a softening of the threshold between gown and town. Grafton Archi- tects delivered just such an innovative programme. The result is a breathtaking new building for Kingston University.
Picture © Dennis Gilbert October-November 2021
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
