Osijek University Library
Location: Osijek, Croatia
Type: Competition / 2nd prize
Author: Radionica arhitekture
Design team: Fani Frković, Vedrana Ivanda, Domagoj Ivanović, Iva Pejić, Goran Rako, Josip Sabolić
Designed: 2012
Area: 16.600 m2


Urbanistic elements that define architecture of Osijek University Library building are very distinct. They actually continue affirming the existing urban matrix of the university campus. In this detached area located to the east of the center of Osijek, near the Drava river, new library building will occupy a very important square of the urban planning chessboard, perhaps the most important one.
We liberate the ground floor by raising the reading room in to the air thus allowing all the campus roads to meet in the lobby of the library. The lobby turns into an internal square, a place to hang out, a place for all the complementary services (conference and small hall, exhibition spaces, bookstores, coffee shops...).
The lobby is transformed into an extension of the Campus, the dominance of pedestrians increased. After liberating the ground floor, we offer a space of opposite qualities above. Introvert space. The reading room is not literally closed, it is surrounded by a brise-soleil "wall" to protect it from too much sun, more or less open or closed, depending on the purpose of space just behind them. To illuminate this predominantly introverted space, we introduce an atrium system that provides natural light and ventilation.