Before printing and, therefore, well before libraries, knowledge was stored in churches. The richly decorated stained glass windows enabled the people to read fragments of the Holy Bible in a comic strip. Literature, at that time, was carefully kept and rewritten by holy guardians, the monks.
From the invention of printing and the democratization of the book, it was necessary to create a program capable of hosting these thousands of books. Much like the New York Public Library, built by Carrère and Hastings in 1897, people came to consult precious works there, without the chance to linger there. The 21st-century library would therefore be very different in many ways since before being a book silo, it was a center for social, professional, and even romantic encounters. The Rolex Learning Center at EPFL from Sanaa is a perfect example of this, where the workplaces occupy a larger space than the works, which are relegated to the basement. The library thus becomes a media carpet, innervated by various social activities.
The facade screens, conference rooms, undefined spaces, relaxation, coworking areas, or even club activities such as basketball on the roof or yoga on the place all benefit a mindset for learning. By diversifying the knowledge media and allocating spaces for entertainment and social interactions, the media library allows people to find their best way to learn while allowing them to unwind.