Libraries as architecture of mutuality, care and civic action – Studio Polpo

Report on a presentation by: Dr Jonathan Orlek, Dr Julia Udall, Ben Cornish, Dr Katherine Quinn, Dr Anna Holder.

Studio Polpo is “a Sheffield-based social enterprise architecture practice.” They have a strong focus on social contexts, interventions and long-term commitments with an emphasis on non-commercial mutualised spaces.

The research team explored libraries as potential sites of public learning, and the relationship between libraries and high streets. This is a very interesting and involving project as it looks into social aspect and benefits of libraries for public. This was well revealed in High Streets of Exchanges (Studio Polpo, part of British Pavilion for Venice Biennale of Architecture 2021), which explored high streets as an infrastructure of mutuality, care and civic action. In this installation, there were fragments of high streets in Sheffield – a hairdressers, a library, a pay-as-you-feel café. They all offered insights into social activities that exist beyond the commercial.  In my opinion, they connected the physical infrastructure with the functionality and human soul that filled up these spaces. Human voices talking about these places were a strong tool to make us think about our environment and the value of knowledge spaces in the public realm:

The project aims at spotting ways to improve its community, working with a network of architects, clients, and often opportunist ideas. This approach is important today as the soul of the place should be heard and cared. To achieve this they use the following tools: 

• SITUATED: responding to specific, geographic & social contexts;

• MAKING 1:1 interventions within building environment, including community-led urban startegies;

• SELF-INITIATE- actively make projects happen by connecting communities & funding;

• Establish LONG-TERM COMMITMENTS (with people, organisations, places) through linking of collaborative projects/opportunities;

• RESEARCH-LED – to establish connections between collective practices, teaching and research;

I liked this approach to projects as it brings architectural activism.

A manifesto for libraries written by Ben Cornish and Dr Katherine Quinn which formed part of the library ‘fragment’ was used as a prompt for group reflections and discussions to create a collective manifesto for architectural libraries. 

These are only some ideas of the talk:

• the Library will not be a vacuum… they will be places to find a public silence, to be alone together;
• the Library will not be frictionless, we will experience each other in the Library;
• the Library will be a space to create new works and a channel to share with others. A place to publish, to press, to print;
  • … building our own locally developed education resources;
  • … it will be a table, a voice, a megaphone, … a place to discover new worlds;

Librarians agree with authors of the Manifesto that academic libraries should become more active in public life and participate in communal projects. There are different ways to do it . One of the possible ways is to participate in community events in public libraries, i.e. organise exhibitions, book fairs, talks with students & children. We as architecture librarians can start the process and be involved in some projects.

I loved the example of the Hive – University of Worcester. The Hive is no ordinary library. Opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 2012, The Hive is Europe’s first fully integrated university and public library. It has a busy events programme, with regular public lectures, exhibitions and performances.

Finally, it was exciting to hear about Polpo’s current project: the Sheffield Community Land Trust (CLT). In part this involves developing wild spaces and community houses. They are looking at how to sustainably and ethically repurpose existing buildings – using biomaterial (mycelia) for insulation i.e. growing mushroom panels in the city and then testing them as insulation!

Report by Tatiana Zhimbiev | University of Cambridge with David Stacey | University of Bath

The following photographs show delegate thoughts about their libraries in response to the manifesto. There was a lot of discussion around how public access to academic spaces (libraries) had been closed off during Covid and had not reverted back to being welcoming to visitors: