Meghalaya community library

This library has been designed to be part of its natural setting. Not simply to be located within a Banyan Tree Forest, but to be enveloped by the roots of this unique tree.

The Banyan Tree holds a special place in Indian culture. It is the country’s national tree and its aerial root system, climbing downwards from the canopy, offers a means to integrate the library in the local ecosystem.

Building on the indigenous theory of the seventh generation, the library would be constructed predominantly in timber and, over the generations would become wrapped in the roots of the trees above, until it becomes a living part of the forest.

This metaphor carries into the use of the building. As a library located adjacent to the Living Roots Bridge, on the edge of Riwai, in the Meghalaya region of India, its purpose is to establish, enhance and embed knowledge in the community. This knowledge will grow over generations, as the roots cloak the structure, rooting the library into the community and nature. 

The building is divided into three primary elements: General knowledge and fiction, a children’s section, and an information technology suite. Each element is accessed off a central courtyard which can be used for community events, art and sculpture exhibitions and lectures. 

At the end of its useful life, any materials that cannot decompose will be removed and the structure will become fully integrated with the ecosystem as it collapses into ruin and becomes home for plants, bugs and other wildlife.