A green library, featuring moss walls and a “plant swap” service, has opened in Lublin. Home to nearly 20,000 books, the library, named Bioteka, was designed to be a functional, comfortable and environmentally friendly space, and to be accessible for disabled people.
With spaces designated for exhibitions, learning and board games, it is also planned for the library to host events relating to ecological education once coronavirus restrictions are relaxed.
Bioteka opened this month as a branch of Lublin’s municipal public library. It contains 18,000 books, 9,000 audiobooks and 7,000 films and music albums.
The library was created at the site of a former cult restaurant, Karczma Słupska, which closed in 2008. Speaking to Notes from Poland, architect Grzegorz Kłoda from GK-Atelier said his team “knew that something unique had to be created in such a place.”
“We put great emphasis on making the library functional, modern and giving the possibility of using its space in various ways by creative librarians,” he said.
The project, which cost nearly 2 million zloty (€441,000), was inspired by the revitalisation of the neighbouring Saxon Gardens. The library has an “eco-industrial” look, with green elements interspersed with light-coloured wooden bookcases and a concrete.
As part of the design, a “plant swap” bookcase – modelled on bookswapping – has been installed, so that visitors can exchange plants with each other. There is also a water wall, which is intended to relax readers, as well as a soundproofed room designed to be used by those playing board games.
Bioteka also features space for temporary exhibitions – including a grey floor made of microcement which can be used as a background for painting.
There is also a soft area for children, as well as a multimedia room adapted for people with disabilities. Kłoda says that “the entire library is free of architectural barriers for people in wheelchairs”.
The architect also hopes the library will be able to host environmental events in the future, once COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.
“It is also important that ‘green’ will not be present in the library only in the form of interior design, there will be a large-scale pro-ecological education for users of all ages and various green ideas will be promoted,” sys Kłoda.
The aim is for Bioteka “to be a contemporary pharmacy for the spirit, so much needed especially in these new, difficult times.”
GK-Atelier is also behind another green library based in Lublin, the multi-level Biblioteka na Poziomie, which opened in 2018. The library has been widely acclaimed, receiving a prize at the European Property Awards, as well as being runner-up in the Public Interiors category of the Annual Polish Architecture XXL Plebiscite.
All images from GK Atelier
Juliette Bretan is a freelance journalist covering Polish and Eastern European current affairs and culture. Her work has featured on the BBC World Service, and in CityMetric, The Independent, Ozy, New Eastern Europe and Culture.pl.
