Last October I was on a university trip to Manchester, where we had to choose a couple of buildings to visit. One of the choices was Manchester Central Library. However, I was completely sure that there would be nothing to surprise me, because what would you expect from a library? Fortunately, I was not right.
When I entered the building I was not expecting this. The building inside was a combination of new and old, of classy and modern technology. I was surprised by how attractive this library was for people to visit and even more for the once who like interactive things.
Interactive monitors, screens, and tablets were placed on the ground floor and the whole place took my breath. I felt like a child at a playground, trying the screens that were providing book archives and information.
One thing really interested me. There were a lot of interactive installations and one of them was a model of a 19th-century house showing how it had looked like back then. Also, there were boxes installed there that I had to open in order to read a fact or information about life during that time.
I found that really interesting and even inspirational for my own project during the time of the trip, which was an exhibition stand. I used that idea for an engaging way of providing interesting information, rather than a boring basic way.
Another place that I visited was the biggest part of the building - the Reading Room. When I entered the room I was amazed by how spacious and bright it was. There were a lot of desks and people who were reading books and studying which was making the atmosphere calm and pleasant. The light was coming through the glazed dome above my head that I consider as the most impressive part of the building. This was a good example to me of how big influence the light has in design and interior.
When I decided to leave the building I used the other entrance that was on the right side of the library. The entrance looked modern in comparison to the facade. Above me, there was a mirrored installation that shaped in an interesting way but it was impossible to distinguish myself from the other reflections.
Overall, the experience that I had at the Manchester Central Library contributed to me as a designer and gave me lots of ideas about projects.
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*All photos are author's