The proposal for the Villaverde Public Library is triggered by its context. Its location offers the ideal meeting point for the neighbors of Villaverde. With this aim, the building offers a series of setbacks from the plot limit in order to create three new urban plazas and to enable access from every front.

The new library is conceived as an open gathering place in direct connection to the exterior. Its south façade also offers a series of semiopen courtyards which serve as intimate pockets that allow for reading and leisure in contact with a landscaped garden towards the back of the site.

The library is composed by a continuous and flexible space split in two levels. Its limits are enclosed by two different kinds of façades. On one hand, natural lighting and ventilation are enabled by a series of transparent glazed facades protected by sets of external vertical louvers with varying densities in response to their orientation. On the other hand, a series of thick inhabited walls house all services, restrooms and vertical communication elements, allowing for a free continuous floorplan on both levels.

The most public and loudest programs, such as the children’s section or the multipurpose public halls, are located on the ground floor for easy access and flexible opening times. The main library programs are located on the upper floor, allowing for spatial and learning continuity.