Idea Store Whitechapel

"Libraries are supposed to play a vital role in the social fabric of a community." D.Adjaye

'Idea Stores' is the official name for information and education centers in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. They serve as an alternative to traditional branches of city libraries. Some see it as merely an effort to rename an already well-known institution. The role of these buildings is, in addition to serving as a classic information center, to offer freely accessible educational programs. The name was also created in response to the location where the new centers are built. Tower Hamlets is a classic working-class area with a strong Muslim presence (over 36%) and a high proportion of young residents (52% are under 30 years old). Idea Stores aim to make education as accessible as possible. Adjaye himself sees the new Idea Stores, which replaced neglected and crumbling libraries, as vital points for spreading knowledge in Tower Hamlets.
Of the planned seven centers, four have so far been built. David Adjaye was chosen to design two of them. The first Idea Store was completed in July 2004 near Canary Wharf and won the RIBA Building Award in 2005. The second was built a year later and again made it to the final nomination for this award. Peter Aspden wrote for the Financial Times: “(Adjaye) engaged his imagination with a blend of postmodern architecture that went beyond the first bland phase of this movement, with all its imitations and adherence to facts, and combined it with today's prevailing social trends: free access, democracy, and the empowerment of communal life.”
The Idea Store on Whitechapel Road is the largest of all the planned centers and is intended to serve as a model for a public library for the 21st century, based on a new program in education and information dissemination. The library is located near the subway on a busy street full of street vendors. The rich program had to be compacted into five floors on a small plot. Ten percent of the area is commercial, while the rest represents a mixture of library and educational spaces. All functions are unified externally by a facade, whose sides feature a repeating pattern of clear and green glass panels. Dominating the main entrance is a five-story atrium that extends over the sidewalk. Two outdoor escalators allow quick access to the part of the center you need. Other functions of the center include a care service, multimedia facilities, and a dance studio. On the top floor, there is a café that offers breathtaking views of London.