APPLE DESIGN PROJECT 1997 (future libraries brief) - Libraries
as we know them are based on a model of individuals working independently to
research, collect and process information.The Cooperative Library is based on
processes and experiences of people working together, in real-time and in asynchronous
modes, focussing on how a more dynamic working relationship is established between
people and information and between people and other people.

Project Abstract
The project Memories odf Relations started with a research
concentrated on a comparison between the traditional, historical meaning and
behaviors in a real physical library and the potential given today by Information
Technologies.

Historically, the library has been not only a place where information is efficiently
stored, but also a very high-quality collective place. In today’s world,
the collective places with high-quality are very scarce, everywhere in the world,
and information is easily accessible from almost everywhere, from our home to
our car to the street. So, what is the meaning of proposing today a briefing
like “The Collective Library”?

First, we believe that the library is the perfect metaphor of “The Place
of Knowledge”, or even better, the place of ACCESS TO COLLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE,
thus raising the issue of giving technological support to the building and sedimentation
of knowledge (knowledge is not only stored in a library, but built there).

- the library is a PUBLIC PLACE of high quality raising the
issue of the integration of information technology with a place where the soft
qualities (light, materials, atmosphere of the place) and the quality of relations
between people (a nice, quite place of meditation and isolation) are crucial
elements.

- the library is a highly RITUALISTIC PLACE, where the access
to knowledge has an almost sacred role.

- the library should remain a place of PHYSICAL RELATION with knowledge
and paper BOOKS, enriched but not necessarily replaced by multimedia information
stored in digital form.

Then, we know that there is an enormous potential for information technologies
(IT) to support the work and life in the selected place, and for the selected
activities. Regarding libraries we can give some examples:

- the potential of IT to support the archiving but also selecting and giving
relevance to information and knowledge.
- the potential of IT to PERSONALIZE the access to information, knowledge and
people.

All this could be based on innovative techniques like:
- agent based systems
- technologies that use physical location as input device
- technologies that use paper, or the book itself, as input/output device

The proposed solution comes from the idea to use architectural skills putting
them in a new dimension, interpreting the high quality of a place through the
HIGH QUALITY OF THE INTERACTIONS AND RELATIONS (between person and person, between
persons and the space, and between persons, the space and the tools they’
use).

—

Slideshow
Sono "vecchie" del 1997 ma ricche di un fascino
e di un approccio "sostenibile" che suona molto moderno.

- Ecco
le diapositive (’97)

del progetto - tutor: Marco Susani