Reimagining the Library as an Urban Sanctuary
Nestled in the heart of Orchard Gateway—Singapore’s iconic retail artery—Library@Orchard redefines the conventional public library experience. Seamlessly integrated into a commercial mall setting, this award-winning space invites exploration, reflection, and discovery amidst the urban rush.
This project was conceived as a fluid, immersive interior that blurs the line between architecture and narrative. Visitors are not just readers—they become participants in a carefully choreographed spatial experience. Curved bookshelves, soft lighting, and organic circulation paths come together to offer moments of quiet intimacy within the vibrancy of a retail environment.
At its core, this design asks a bold question:
Can contemplation thrive where consumerism dominates?
Newspace answered with a transformative vision—one that empowers public spaces to be both functional and emotionally resonant.
Location
Singapore
Completion
2014
GFA
4,014 sqm
Client
National Library Board
Services
Interiors
Awards
- American Library Association Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects (2016)
- Singapore President’s Design Award (2015) – Design of the Year
- Inside Festival (World Architecture Festival) (2015) – Finalist in Civic Category
Interior as Landscape
Instead of conventional aisle-based layouts, the interior is shaped as a “curated streetscape” — a flowing sequence of alcoves, niches, reading corners, and spatial pauses. Every curve in the shelving system leads intuitively to the next, guiding the visitor through genre zones like a literary promenade. The forms, while sculptural, are also deeply functional — giving rhythm and scale to the long, narrow floor plates typical of commercial spaces.
This landscape-like approach softens the rigid expectations of library design. By introducing curvature, thresholds, and shifts in visual rhythm, the space becomes legible as a journey rather than a grid. Natural materials and warm lighting enhance a sense of intimacy, while each zone is deliberately framed to encourage lingering, exploration, and serendipitous discovery.
What emerges is not just a library, but a living topography of knowledge — one where movement, form, and function come together to invite reflection, connection, and delight in the everyday act of reading.
Material Language & Lighting
Zoning Through Volume and Transparency
The library spans two levels, connected visually and spatially through a double-height void and perimeter glazing. On the upper level, built-in gallery seating offers vantage points for people-watching, while translucent partitions maintain openness without sacrificing intimacy. Each zone — from media labs to quiet reading lounges — is subtly defined by volume shifts, ceiling articulation, and shelving geometry, rather than hard walls or signage.
This approach champions visual permeability, ensuring that light, sightlines, and movement flow freely across the space. The absence of enclosed boundaries encourages organic transitions between programs, creating a sense of cohesion within diversity. The result is a spatial choreography that supports both active engagement and silent contemplation—echoing the dual nature of a modern library as a community hub and personal retreat.
Strategically layered and volumetrically balanced, the design draws the eye upward and outward, reinforcing a sense of expansion within a compact footprint. It’s a space that feels larger than it is—open, accessible, and quietly monumental.
Designing for the Next Generation
More than a repository of books, Library@Orchard is an interior architecture experiment in curating spatial curiosity. It draws in young, digital-native audiences while preserving the soul of traditional library typologies. The interior is not just a container — it is a storyteller.
Library@Orchard is proof that interior design can shape public behaviour, foster community engagement, and elevate everyday rituals — one spatial gesture at a time.
Top: Sculptural Stair Hub
Bottom: Reading Lounge Zone
Right: Lifestyle Book Display
