Peckham Library stands as a momentous symbol of an era of optimism. Designed against the backdrop of New Labour and the approaching millennium, the library was commissioned by Southwark Council as part of the wide reaching regeneration of the borough in the late nineties. The brief sought to redefine the role of the library, encourage access to knowledge and embrace the diversity of the local community. Architects Alsop & Störmer worked with structural engineers AKTII to design an elevated ‘public living room’, incorporating timber wrapped learning pods shaped to resemble African pots. The main reading room is suspended 12m above the ground, creating a new public space below, and affording library users with a spectacular view of London’s skyline. The cantilevered library is supported by a ‘choreography of dancing columns’, angled to form an irregular arcade, and providing stability when grouped, like the ‘legs of a giraffe’.
In the final episode of AF Turns 30, Afterparti talk to the designers engaged in the library’s past and present, exploring ideas of generosity, power and community.
Archival footage included:
Building Of The Year: Peckham Library (ZCD Films, 2000)
Funky Libraries presented by David Adjaye for Dreamscapes (BBC Studios, 2003)
Walking on Rye Lane, Peckham (unknown, 2013)
Ordinary Streets (LSE Cities, 2015)
‘Asamble’, Peckham Square (Amalia Pica, South London Gallery, 2016)
This is Peckham (Shane Duncan, 2018)
AFTERPARTI
Founded in 2019, Afterparti is a collective of architects, curators and writers interested in exploring ideas of equity in the city. Through a self-published magazine, critical writing, events and collaborations, Afterparti advocates for new models of practice by engaging underrepresented voices in the built environment. The next magazine issue of Afterparti will be For the Love of Power (Issue 01) forthcoming in 2022.
Siufan Adey works collaboratively across film, publishing and curation. She is currently studying MA Research Architecture at Goldsmiths with Forensic Architecture, and researching East London’s lost Chinatown for Open City. Before starting her MA, Siufan was a producer at Dezeen and her writing has appeared in galdem, Sound Advice’s Now You Know and V&A Magazine among other places.
Thomas Aquilina is a London-based architect and academic invested in building communities of radical thought and progressive practice. He is co-director of the New Architecture Writers programme, associate lecturer at London Metropolitan University and tutor at The LSA. As a Design Researcher in Residence at the Design Museum, Thomas is investigating a local understanding of spatial justice in London.
AF TURNS 30
AF Turns 30 is a series looking back at the people, projects and policy that have shaped the architectural landscape over the past thirty years. The programme marks thirty years since the Architecture Foundation was established in 1991. Each episode is guest presented by a new generation of practitioners, writers and historians; reflecting on landmark architectural projects in the U.K. and beyond.
ABOUT THE ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION
For over 20 years, the Architecture Foundation has brought together professionals from across the built environment to discuss and act on issues related to design and the built environment. With a renewed focus on the city and the critical intersection of architecture and politics, the Architecture Foundation works to effect meaningful change on policy and practice.
» Sign up to our monthly newsletter http://www.architecturefoundation.org.uk
» Support the work of The Architecture Foundation, by donating or becoming a member: http://architecturefoundation.nationbuilder.com
» The AF Store https://shop.architecturefoundation.org.uk/
» Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/architecturefoundation/
» Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArchFoundation
» Download the London Architecture Guide for iPhone https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/london-architecture-guide/id1179176485
» Download the London Architecture Guide for Android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.org.architecturefoundation.londonguide&showAllReviews=true
