Biblioteca Sant Antoni-Joan Oliver (RCR)

The Sant Antoni-Joan Oliver library opened in 2007 and was designed by the RCR Arquitectes (Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta) studio, which won the Pritzker Prize in 2017. The building consists of two vast blocks: a vertical one that includes the façade on Carrer Comte Borrell, and a horizontal one set back from the street and placed around an interior courtyard and garden. The vertical block is subdivided into two prisms clad in steel sheets. It has been designed to ensure the smooth flow of library users. The two blocks are connected by two glass-sided prisms, which act as bridges. They contain areas for reading and form a giant entrance to the centre of the block. The library also extends into the horizontal block. It has a glass wall that separates it from the open passageway leading into the garden, making it a transitional space. The garden retains the brick chimney that bears witness to the site's industrial past. The sides of the building overlooking the interior courtyard and garden have a dual-skin façade – the interior one consists of a glass wall and the outer one is made of vertical steel strips – with a passageway in between for people to walk along. The metal elements connect with the outer façade, which together make a coherent whole.