In 2010, the city was badly hit by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake and the resulting tsunami. Many Chilean architects have taken over the restoration of the Constitucion, including Alejandro Aravena and the Elemental Bureau. Sebastian Irarrasaval was entrusted with the project of a new city library: the customer was the municipality, the investment scheme was a public-private partnership.
The building is located on an area planted with trees: so that their crowns would not obstruct it, it had to be raised 1.6 m above the ground level. Attention is immediately drawn to the three naves marked with a three-part roof: this is how the functional division of the library into children's, youth and adult sections is shown from the outside. The glazing of the street facade immediately demonstrates the social character of the building: it allows you to see both its interior and book novelties, while the canopies and benches turn the street in front of it into a public space. To create optimal natural light inside, the roof is made of lattice, at the same time transmitting and filtering the sun's rays.
Constitucion is located in one of the main Chilean logging and woodworking areas (in the town, for example, there is a paper and pulp mill). Therefore, the choice of material - wood - and the search for highly qualified builders - was not difficult. Only the firewalls are made of concrete, otherwise prefabricated pieces of laminated pine wood are used. The load-bearing frame is opened into the interior to emphasize its rhythm and show visitors the "work" of the structure. A light tone to the space is provided not only by the pine covered with transparent varnish, but also by furniture specially made for the library. Color accents are created by textiles, upholstery, chairs and stools.
