Dual Library is a space for books and goods which acts as a catalyst towards community engagement through honoring existing infrastructure with the addition of a library. Trumansburg farmers market in Ithaca, NY, is celebrated rather than destroyed, creating an environment that facilitates trading commodities and knowledge. Trading becomes an important term for this project as it inspires how the building functions. Each room acts as a Bazar stall to facilitate trade, while the shelves serve to inspire conversation. Weave the two purposes together by synthesizing the shelf as a display made from one sole material, steel, where the shelf becomes the structure. Encompassed with seven large vaults, the visitor is encouraged to look up at the repetitive shelf structure in awe to evoke the human pursuit of knowledge and wisdom. 

The library is an evolving typology. At times, it has been defined as a repository of permanent materials even as its contemporary role has expanded not only to provide diverse sources of media, but also to accommodate an array of complex social programming that fosters rich engagement with the public. Across this spectrum of civic agendas, manifold spatial experiences present themselves such that it becomes apparent that a singular idealized format is impossible to define.

Trumansburg Village consists of 1,600 population, mostly inhabiting women over 50 with an increasing population decline. The site is positioned on a current farmers market which runs through the summer, leaving the site without use during winter. Environmental impacts on the site consist of strong winds coming from the West, with a slight wind from the East and NE. The sun is strongest on the Southern side which is positioned higher in the summer and lower in winter.

Initial studies prior to designing the library included precedent analysis which guide the design. Including Musashino library, a spiral encircled by a continuous singular bookshelf with interesting concepts including searchability vs storability and investigation vs exploration which manifests themselves in the circulation of the library. The main material of the library was wood, yet the wood wasn’t structural but decorative. Another precedent is by Tato Architects. House in Rokko, where the primary building block is steel. Due to the site being sunken be-hind a large retaining wall, all of the steel had to be light in weight and physically brought down on the site. Although the material was steel there is a certain air to the residence not only due to the lightweight materials but also as the house is raised on H beams, covered in glass giving an illusion of a floating house. All of these facts of site analysis, and previous precedent analysis serve as a guide towards designing the future library of Trumansburg.   

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