Dutch firm Mecanoo has completed a library and cultural centre in Kongsberg, Norway, which centres around an atrium with concrete staircases running across its walls and through its centre.
Mecanoo – which was also behind Europe's largest public library – developed the KRONA Knowledge and Cultural Centre to accommodate a variety of public functions required by the local community.
The 24,000-square-metre building contains new teaching and technical laboratory facilities for Buskerud University College and Tinius Olsen Technical Vocational College.
It also provides a technical university library, a public library, cinemas, council offices and a theatre auditorium.
建筑的布局是为了引导参观者进入多功能中庭。
“利用微妙的景观立面和策略性的入口定位，参观者可以直接被吸引进建筑中庭，” Mecanoo说。
“在整个室内空间中，公共功能空间在视觉上强烈的联系进一步加强了建筑群中间的生气和活力。”
The layout of the building is intended to draw visitors towards the multipurpose atrium.
"Using subtle landscape elevations and strategically locating programme access points, visitors intuitively gravitate towards the centre," said Mecanoo.
"Throughout the interior spaces, strong visual connections to public functions further enhance the liveliness of the complex."
This space is brightly lit, thanks to a large skylight, and features walls covered with vertical wooden battens.
A concrete staircase is suspended diagonally across the centre of the space, while other staircases run along the walls. There are also balconies overlooking the space from several different floors.
中庭和楼梯平台上设置了一些座椅，可供非正式的工作和社交场合使用。
Tables and chairs set up in the atrium and the surrounding landings offer opportunities for informal working or socialising.
其他建筑空间在设计时重点考虑了灵活性，比如大学食堂在晚上也可以用作咖啡馆使用。
公共图书馆可以用作剧场的大厅，艺术画廊可以作为电影中心的酒吧。
Other spaces in the building designed with flexibility in mind include the university canteen, which becomes a cafe in the evening.
The public library also functions as a foyer for the theatre and the art gallery serves as the film centre's bar.
建筑中心的几个礼堂被设计成可以重组的，并用作多种用途，包括演讲、表演、音乐会、接待和会议。
Several auditoria at the centre of the complex are designed to be reconfigurable and can therefore be used for various purposes, including lectures, performances, concerts, receptions and meetings.
"These entertainment spaces are designed to be as open and flexible as possible," the architects added, "yet also create a vibrant, social atmosphere, and a connection to Kongsberg's historical context."
KRONA紧邻挪威最古老的大学建筑，地理位置极具历史意义，因此它的设计也回应了这个敏感的文脉。
建筑从东侧的缓坡升起，其金属玻璃立面上覆盖了竖向的木板条，呼应了当地的建筑形式。
KRONA is situated in a historically significant area next to Norway's oldest university building, and its design was developed in response to this sensitive context.
Emerging from a gentle slope on its eastern edge, the building's metal and glass facades are covered with vertical wooden fins that reference the local architecture.
Where it faces the adjacent Hasebergtjerndalen park, a balcony provides space for outdoor performances and an amphitheatre is carved into the landscape in front of the building.
在东侧，KRONA正对现有的教堂广场，该公共区域一直延续到建筑中心的公共图书馆和大学图书馆。
室内外公共空间的联系通过不断应用的相同的石材地板进行强调。
To the east, KRONA faces the existing church square and this public realm continues into the centre of the building, where the public and university libraries are located.
The connection between internal and external public space is accentuated by the continuous application of the same stone flooring.
Mecanoo is also working on the renovation of Mies van der Rohe's Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library in Washington DC, and was put in charge of renovating the New York Public Library after an original proposal by Foster + Partners was scrapped.
Images courtesy of Mecanoo.
Site plan/总平面图
项目概况：
建筑设计：Mecanoo
当地建筑师：Code Arkitektur
结构工程：Rambøll Norge AS
工艺工程：EM Teknikk - Energi AS
消防安全顾问：Rambøll Norge
总承包商：Strøn Gundersen AS
Project credits:
Architect: Mecanoo
Local architect: Code Arkitektur
Structural engineer: Rambøll Norge AS
ME engineer: EM Teknikk - Energi AS
Fire safety consultant: Rambøll Norge
Main contractor: Strøn Gundersen AS
