Book chapter
The library: Interior urbanism as a layered experience of public space
The Interior Urbanism Theory Reader, pp 100-107
12 Mar 2024
Abstract
Public space is often represented and interpreted in a binary way: solid/void, public/private. However, library spaces are often experienced as environments encoded with varying degrees, expressions, and feelings of “publicness.” This chapter discusses a few significant material and historical conditions that contributed to the unique spatial character of libraries, and then looks at the New York Public Library to develop an argument that interior urbanism is characterized by a layered experience of public space. Drawing upon library examples, interior urban space is theorized in three related registers. Iain Borden’s conception of the urban landscape, understood through skateboarding as “a constant layer through the city,” suggests interior urbanism be considered as a boundary-less condition. The work of William Whyte and ideas of “place” help frame interior urbanism at the scale of human interaction. The idea of “mapping as a generative process,” articulated by both James Corner and Denise Scott Brown, allows us to understand interior urbanism as a way to conceive (or reconceive) spaces as public.
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Details
- Title
- The library: Interior urbanism as a layered experience of public space
- Creators
- William Mangold - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- The Interior Urbanism Theory Reader, pp 100-107
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Number of pages
- 8
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Architecture, Design, and Urbanism
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85187120636
- Other Identifier
- 991022202096604721