Virgilio Barco Public Library
Rogelio Salmona · Bogotá, Colombia · 2001
The Virgilio Barco Library is conceived as a sequence of brick terraces, circular volumes, ramps and water channels embedded in a broad public park. Salmona uses movement through exterior and interior spaces to frame Bogotá’s mountains and connect reading rooms to gardens and reflective pools. The building’s low profile and extensive public roofscape resist the idea of the library as a sealed monument. It is a mature example of Salmona’s integration of civic program, landscape and brick construction.