Place Matters

This thesis explores past and present directions of architectural theories and designs of libraries with a focus on the study of the progression of cultural transmission methods, from oral to written and from written to digital. As recorded memory shifts from physical mediums to digital media in a virtual space the amount of physical space needed for housing the information diminishes. The tension between spatially embodied memory and digital memory raises a critical question: ‘WHAT IS THE CONTEMPORARY LIBRARY?’ We are witnessing a change in the way people share information. The impact of the current “information age” on architectural design is examined through a three part structure: first chapter will discuss Architectural Medium as the Message and the Message without the Architecture, second chapter will examine Architecture that Houses the Message as well as the Message without the Architecture, and third chapter will discuss the proposed Contemporary Library project.