The Thousand Suns Library

The project establishes a green corridor that links to the Manzanares River and the "Metropolitan Forest" project, transforming a site previously occupied by old factories and polluted land. In its place, we have designed a high-quality public space and open-access cultural facility. The metal cladding references the site’s industrial past, while a warm timber framework defines the interior space. Natural light becomes the primary material of the design, creating a rich atmosphere through multiple mechanisms of filtered illumination. The proposal’s flexibility will enable future adaptations.

To the south of the site, a high-rise residential block casts a deep shadow over the plot. The project responds to this challenge not by resisting, but by transforming it, introducing a constellation of elements designed to capture and reflect natural light: the "thousand suns." Sunlight is drawn into the building through an array of light-collecting strategies: patios, skylights, vertical slats along the northwest façade, lattices surrounding the courtyards, and even the undersides of tree canopies. These components work together to redirect solar radiation toward the white soffit of the roof and the warm timber structural frame. Filtered through these reflective layers, natural light becomes the project’s main building material, creating a dense, atmospheric glow of indirect, warm, and vibrant illumination. Within this space, the body experiences itself without shadows. As night falls, the library inverts its role, glowing from within; it becomes a luminous lantern in the landscape.

Inside, the timber structure, wooden roof, and skylights come together to reveal the full scale and craftsmanship of the exposed beams and trusses. The ceiling’s white wood-shaving “sponge” panels, alongside the natural grain and knots of the timber, are displayed in striking detail, inviting a tactile and sensory connection to the material. Natural light pours in, evoking the illumination once found in Butarque’s historic industrial warehouses. This soft, diffused light lends the CLT flooring a subtle bluish-grey hue, enriching the overall atmosphere. The delicate scent of wood, the gentle reflection of light, the warm acoustic quality, and the innate materiality of the space coalesce to form an environment that is both intimate and radiant, perfectly suited for study, contemplation, and quiet introspection. Further timber details are integrated into the white ceilings, windows, shelving, and vertical cladding.