The Miracle for Africa Foundation has given the go-ahead for a new library designed by Steven Holl Architects in Malawi. The first building for a new campus plan, also designed by Steven Holl Architects, the 66,000 sq. ft. library will be built, in part, with local materials like bamboo and stone, as well as use local labor for the construction.
One of the most distinctive features of the project, a curved pre-fabricated roof will be made with Ductile concrete. The forms will bounce light towards photovoltaic panels and into the interior of the building. A free plan, the library will include meeting rooms as well as glass-enclosed archives (the enclosure to maintain appropriate humidity levels). The circulation desk will stand next to a rain collecting pool.
The project is considered significant for Malawi, one of the smallest countries in Africa with a population of 16.7 million. It is one of the least developed countries in the world and one of the poorest.
“This project is historic, the library will be an iconic marker for a great moment in the architectural history of Malawi and for all of Africa; especially Malawi, which has been away from modern civilization for so long,” states the client, Mr. Y. K. Chung, founder and chairman of the Miracle for Africa Foundation.
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