It’s natural for libraries to be full of books. However, the library in Mexico City, Mexico, is not just full of books. This building, called La Ciudadela, is special, because in several rooms the floors are covered with glass.
The library is also equipped with a special children’s library, bookstore and public areas that can be used for various purposes.
The various features in this library, including the book wall and glass floor in the bookstore, as well as various other features make it look modern. In fact, this public facility is located in the middle of a building that has been standing since the 18th century.
The entire named area that houses this library has an area of 25,450 m2. Mexican company Taller 6A was responsible for renovating much of the area to update the appearance and upgrade the library.
La Ciudadela is a historical building. Previously, this building served as a military headquarters, prison, school and weapons factory. This facility was then converted in 1946 as a library. Since then, La Ciudadela has become the first library in the country.
Before being composed by Taller 6A, this facility was last restored in 1987. At that time, Abraham Zabludovsky covered the four main terraces and the central terrace with large umbrellas. Imagine, a square area with a red cross in the middle that functions as a link. That’s the plan for La Ciudadela.
Among these rooms, there is a special reading room that is safe for children. Apart from having a complete book collection, this library also has a Braille area, multi-purpose room, digital teaching, special area for babies. Taller 6A reorganized the program of various activities in the library so that its operations were more logical and efficient. The company also wanted to save the character of the building by reusing the basic functions of the terrace. This includes increasing the amount of natural light in the room, improving accessibility, and updating equipment to match the latest technology. Apart from updating facilities for children, this company also added a bookstore with unique features. Not only selling books, the shop called “Alejandro Rossi” can also be used as an exhibition area. The walls that divide the interior double as bookshelves. The wall is made of hundreds of wooden boxes. Not only that, as previously mentioned, the floor is also made of transparent glass.