Brussels
Belgium
For all time, libraries have sustained the connection between knowledge and power, the forbidden and the sacred. Yet it is impossible to bring together all the knowledge in the world in one library, even one as great as those of Pergamum or Alexandria. However their symbolism remains powerful and universal. In Olivier Dwek’s projects, the library often occupies a central space, connecting two open levels, the second of which is accessible by a walkway, a passageway or a concealed staircase. In this art collector’s duplex, the library constitutes an architectonic element in itself, inside which a staircase has been fitted, making its way through books and knowledge. At the top of this element is the office which overlooks the entire space. Its rhythmic configuration of solids and hollows are reminiscent of certain modernist facades. A shift in scale echoes the work of Jean Prouvé or Pierre Jeanneret, some of whose articulations have entered the composition, be it through furniture or major structures and architectures.
© Serge Anton
