THE CITY LIBRARY

STOCKHOLM
 ARCHITECT: Gunnar Asplund
LOCATION: Stockholm, Sweden
PROJECT YEAR: 1918-1928
 INTRODUCTION
• In the early 1900s, the concept of a public library was being
adopted by the City of Stockholm in Sweden
• Gunnar Asplund was initially hired to help determine the
requirements for a public library and then prepare a
competition open to all architects.
• Beginning his research in the United States, Asplund saw first
hand examples of the most developed library system in the
world.
• He became very informed and when the building committee
realized the strength that he had in his understandings and
ideas, they decided he would be the most suitable architect
for the job.
 SITE
• The site of the library
rests beside a steep hill,
which influenced the
designs of Asplund from
the beginning
• A compact, orange-
colored mass is not
overpowered by it’s
environment
 FORM
• The FORM is a
cube topped by
cylinder

• The form is heavy

and massive
 STYLE

• The classic style of the architecture is revealed

in the neoclassical composition.
• Neoclassical, or "new" classical, architecture
describes buildings that are inspired by the
classical architecture of ancient Greece and
Rome.

SYMMETRICAL SHAPE
 INTERIOR
• Interior reading
rooms form a
square with an
open courtyard in
the center of the
library, which is
almost entirely
filled by a round
lending hall.
 INTERIOR
•  The lending hall is a tall
cylinder for structural,
economical and formal
reasons.
 INTERIOR
The processional
entrance to the library
that is found at the end
of a dramatic staircase is
marked by high walls of
polished black stucco.
 INTERIOR
Walls along the circular courtyard on all
levels are lined with books and
beautifully detailed wooden bookcases.
As the eye continues up the interior, a
contrasting rough stucco wall jets
upwards towards the top of the cylinder,
where the room is filled with light
through the high clerestory
windows. The hanging chandelier made
of white opalescent glass is upwardly
concaved, allowing it to capture light
from the windows and take on an intense
glow as it becomes a focal point in the
vast open space
CLIMATE

• Sweden's weather has many phases. 

• Sweden enjoys a mostly temperate climate
despite its northern latitude, mainly because
of the Gulf Stream.
•  Stockholm is warmer and milder, while in the
mountains of northern Sweden a sub-Arctic
climate predominates.
 SPACIAL PLANNING AND CIRCULATION
TERRACE SHELL SPACE
RESTAURANT AND PLANT
ROOF ECOLOGY
TERRACE GARDEN
NATURE AND
TECHNOLOGY

YOUNG
PEOPLE

EXSISTING LIBRARY

PROPOSED
SPACIAL PLANNING AND CIRCULATION
MEDIA
MANAGEMENT
FOREIGN
LINK BELOW LANGUAGE
VOID BALCONY
PEOPLE AMD
LOGISTICS
COUNTRIES
SPACIAL PLANNING AND CIRCULATION
ENTRANCE
LEARNING ZONE TERRACE
BELOW
FICTION NEWS ZONE SWEDISH INSTITUTE
COURTYARD
BELOW
OF CHILDREN BOOKS
CIVIS STUDIES
 FUNCTIONS

NATURE AND
TECHNOLOGY
RESTAURANT AND
ROOF GARDEN

ART AND
AESTHETICS
FUNCTIONS
 FUNCTIONS

ART

NATURE AND
TECHNOLOGY
RESTAURANT AND
TERRACE
FUNCTIONS
 FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE AND COUNTRIES

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

PEOPLE AND COUNTRIES

FOREIGN LANGUAGE
FUNCTIONS
FUNCTIONS
AUDITORIUMS
STUDIOS
TEACHING ROOMS
DEPOSITORIES

CIVIC STUDIES
NEWS ZONE
SWEDISH INSTITUTE

CIVIC STUDIES
LEARNING ZONE
CAFÉ
SWEDISH INSTITUTE
FUNCTIONS
ELEVATION
ELEVATION ASPLUND LIBRARY
LONG SECTION
SECTION THROUGH THE ASPLUND LIBRARY
PLAN

A B
 SECTIONS
SECTION A

SECTION B
REFFERENCE : ARCHDAILY.COM
THANK YOU !