Surface Play
A Big Door Mat for Sea Point Library
The library interior itself is a point of meeting, a roof sheltering learning and an aftercare facility serving many homes. The square offers the possibility of extending these functions - the thresholds of gathering, sheltering and learning - onto the street. This gesture aims to foreground accessibility of the library, key to the success of such vital public infrastructures.
A durable rubber surface wraps the undulating ground. Stairs melt into gentle ramps, level changes support all types of mobility – crawling to wheeling.
A sea of soft colour flows from edge to edge, lapping at sides of the existing buildings, pulling them together. A fragmented space can be connected with a single gesture.
