FROM “READING MACHINE” TO “EVENT SPACE.” THE BUILDING OF THE JAGIELLONIAN LIBRARY IN THE VIEWS OF ITS DESIGNERS
FROM “READING MACHINE” TO “EVENT SPACE.” THE BUILDING OF THE JAGIELLONIAN LIBRARY IN THE VIEWS OF ITS DESIGNERS

Summary/Abstract: This article presents the views on library architecture represented by two architects involved in designing and constructing the Jagiellonian Library: Wacław Krzyżanowski, who started the construction in 1931, and Waldemar Loegler, who finished the last extension of the building in 2001. For Krzyżanowski, who followed the Modernist and Functionalist ideas, a library was a place of strict organisation and respect, hence the monumentalism and stability of the part of the building he designed. Loegler’s design, however, is based upon the theory of free forms, according to which a library should be a friendly and open place. In Loegler’s view, more than a building, the architect designs events which take place within its walls. This article also touches upon some possible future scenarios for the building of the Jagiellonian Library with regard to the changing needs of its users, such as the necessity of building a storage area. It also presents contemporary tendencies in library architecture.

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