Wood is used to generate a friendlier interior and highlight, to a greater extent, the access to each of the programs, generating an interesting contrast with the red linoleum floors. The vaulted ceilings and walls are mostly covered in white.
Los Molinos Library by estudio DIIR. Photograph by Luis Díaz Díaz.
Description of project by estudio DIIR
Los Molinos library is part of an ambitious project framed in a public competition won by estudio DIIR in 2018. The main desire of the project lies in adapting the entire complex - a former school group - to the needs of the present. Thus, what was formerly conceived to accommodate a specific program, completely changes its use. The playground becomes a public square, the classrooms a cultural center or, as in this project, the former teachers' dormitories become a municipal library.
At the time of the intervention, the entire second floor is used in order to incorporate this space to the cultural activity of the building. A new communication core is designed with a semicircular shape attached to the building in the center of the configuration. Coinciding with the arrival area, a welcoming space is proposed that tops the semicircle and builds its contour by means of a wooden bench. From this point, the user connects with a kind of large corridor, which acts as a backbone, and gives access to each of the rooms. All this strip is covered with a wooden paneling that gives presence and seems to emphasize the access to each of the programs.
The warmth of the wood in the vertical surfaces and the colorful red linoleum on certain floors contrast with the neutrality of the rest of the tones. White covers most of the spaces and gives prominence to the unique vaulted ceiling.
