Typsa Arquitectura completes tree-weaving library in Luanda
Typsa Arquitectura, a Spanish firm established in 1966, has finalized a library in Luanda, Angola, incorporating the site's mature trees into its design. Spanning 1,915 square meters, the building boasts a sweeping concrete roof with circular cutouts that highlight the trees. According to lead architect Marina González Suárez, the trees were crucial to the design concept. The roof, which is held up by slender steel columns and reinforced concrete slabs, facilitates shaded walkways as part of an environmentally passive approach. The library features curved glass facades equipped with adjustable brise soleil screens that create patterned shadows. It includes two public levels and a technical floor, with a central wooden staircase leading to a terrace. Photography by Flavio Ricardo Gomes Cardoso.
Key facts
- Typsa Arquitectura completed a library in Luanda, Angola
- Library is 1,915 square metres and located in Luanda's technology park
- Designed around existing mature trees, which determined footprint, spatial organisation, and roof design
- Curving concrete roof has circular openings that frame the retained trees
- Roof is supported by reinforced concrete slabs and slender steel columns
- Ventilated double-layered roof aids passive cooling
- Brise soleil screens made of lacquered aluminium reinterpret Angolan modernist architecture
- Library has two public floors plus a technical level
- Ground floor includes reading areas, offices, and a multipurpose auditorium
- Upper floor has principal reading room with terrace overlooking park
- Lead architect: Marina González Suárez
- Project director: Joaquin Beltran Del Corral
- Photography by Flavio Ricardo Gomes Cardoso
- Typsa Arquitectura founded in Madrid in 1966
Entities
Artists
- Marina González Suárez
- Joaquin Beltran Del Corral
- Flavio Ricardo Gomes Cardoso
Institutions
- Typsa Arquitectura
- Typsa
- Dezeen
Locations
- Luanda
- Angola
- Madrid
- Spain
Sources
- Dezeen —