Meta/Physical: Designing for Transcendence in a Community Library

Julia Hower // Rachel Schade

Meta/Physical: Designing for Transcendence in a Community Library 

We all have an innate need for transcendent experiences – moments that are “beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experience.” To meet this need, Meta/Physical proposes adding an experience of transcendence to people’s regular routines through the design of a public library branch. With a particular focus on the use of light and shadow, transparency and opacity, wabi-sabi, color theory, connection to nature, and scale, this library space acts as a respite from the outside world.