Jalisco Public Library

Memory

“The library is unlimited and periodic. If an eternal traveler were to cross it in any direction, he would find, after centuries, that the same volumes are repeated in the same disorder (which, repeated, would be an order: the Order). My solitude is gladdened by this elegant hope.”

The Library of Babel.

Jorge Luis Borges.

Books are made of trees.

They are a set of flat and flexible parts of paper printed with dark pigmentation signs.

The library consists of a series of tree-shaped trays that support and protect the cultural heritage.

A continuous façade, like an exposed shell, protects the inner treasure from the aggressiveness of the exterior, incorporating into its structure as a program the rooms and services necessary for its complete operation.

This stone forest with wooden equipment has a primitive character, seeking a physical and sensitive contact with the materials.

The structure and the interior space

The structural trees, as guardians of memory, protect the books and treasure the collections. These porticos work together in the event of an earthquake, incorporating diagonal beams to act as struts or bracing beams in horizontal displacements.

The sections of the columns, as in trees, are reduced according to the

reduction of the load on the different levels and their contents, thus providing the whole complex with a marked tectonic character.

The large skylight, facing north and south, provides dramatic lighting.

Light, raised or insulated floors and suspended ceilings are avoided.