The New B.E.I.C. (European Library of Information and Culture) is a large library-laboratory capable of integrating interdisciplinary access to knowledge, consultation services, cultural production, lifelong learning, digital technologies, and research activities.
The new B.E.I.C. appears as a simple building, standing out thanks to its architectural essentiality. The new structure consists of two trapezoidal-shaped isles with large glass façades, showing an explicit industrial look. The building embodies the coexistence of two ways of experiencing the collection: on one hand, an open, immediate, and visually permeable area designed for dynamic use; on the other hand, a more intimate and quiet space suitable for reading and studying.
Inside the space, a large basement houses a mechanized storage and technical rooms, while the open and accessible ground floor accommodates public areas. This level supports two identical volumes, respectively dedicated to the Forum and the Departments, and connects to a simple stepped pavilion that hosts the Auditorium in the basement and the Imaginarium for children. The rational layout of the spaces facilitates visitor orientation, allowing them to easily identify and access the main areas directly from the large colonnaded atrium on the ground floor. Circulation occurs along a walkway located at the contact point between the two volumes, emphasizing the building’s east–west orientation.
The North isle, facing the square, houses the entrance and the Forum, while the South isle is dedicated to the Departments. The two volumes are connected by two vertical cores containing staircases and elevators, supported by a regular grid of reinforced concrete pillars.
The structure varies through the two volumes: more open and with larger structural elements to the north, where the Forum’s public functions require a more generous grid; denser and more compact to the south, where the Departments are located. The structures are made of three main materials—concrete, steel, and wood—according to each specific structural role. In situ reinforced concrete is used for the substructure and vertical connections (stairs and elevator shafts). The super-structure has been designed with a composite reinforced concrete–wood system, while steel is used for the large external portals and the supporting structures of the glass façades. The structural system proposed complies with the typical parameters of integrated DfMA + MMC solutions.
For BEIC project, SCE Project was involved in the preliminary, developed and technical structural design, as well as for construction site management for structures.
