Geneva Cité Library

For the renovation of the Geneva Cité Library, Matali Crasset designed a horizontal path through the diverse parts of the library contents with the aid of colour.

Matali Crasset, Geneva Cité Library
The meeting between Matali Crasset and the library team of the Cité Library took place in July, 2014.
The renovation, completed in 2015, highlights themes which she treasures and with which she has worked on for many years: the relaying, dissemination and the availability of culture for everyone, with digital technology being an opportunity to reaffirm our values and participatory methodologies. The Cité Library decided to use this renovation as an opportunity to change its entire layout.
Matali Crasset, Geneva Cité Library, 2015
Matali Crasset, Geneva Cité Library, 2015

A library is not a watchman of our culture, it goes towards people and is proactive. It makes us think about our society and all the changes during our time. On the ground-floor there is a platform for reflection and exhibition which is in direct contact with the city, questioning the various challenges of our epoch.

These reflections allow to integrate books and documentaries, in direct contact with our concerns and focusing on more specific themes which then invigorate the library within each floor-specific designed exhibition area. It guides us in our search for knowledge with the possibility of various levels to being involved: an area to sit down and discuss (with a coffee), know what’s happening in the world (the news), become aware (a wall of DVDs), learn more, become a player (in the workshops), and “create” (experimental areas).

Matali Crasset, Geneva Cité Library, 2015
Matali Crasset, Geneva Cité Library, 2015

“The world and me” gives this notion of opening-up to the outside, but it’s not just the idea of summoning the world, as the library also becomes a player on the outside. For this, it has devices and mobile tools allowing for different levels of participation.

This vertical dissemination of knowledge is replaced by a horizontal dissemination where everyone becomes responsible
and a player in their own development. The library is not just a place for research and book-loaning but a living area to acquire autonomy in regards to information.

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