Unveiling the Wonder: Exploring the Whale In the Room at Biblioteca Vasaconselos, CDMX
My first thought was “incarcerated books”. I stood in the atrium of Biblioteca Vasconcelos and looked up. I could see completely through the 6 levels beyond the top floor through the skylights on the roof.
There is definitely an apprehension that is felt before moving forward and ascending the stairs. This was perhaps the only structure where I was unsure if I would depart in the same state as when I arrived.
Biblioteca Vasconcelos was inaugurated in 2006. Located in Colonia Juarez in the northern part of Mexico City, it spans three consecutive buildings and is a contemporary, hard-edged, brutalist construction made of concrete, steel, marble, wood, glass, and granite.
A range of emotions, an acute awareness of the senses, and confusion rise to the surface for a first-time visitor. I myself was awe-struck. It took my breath. Was I in love or was I repelled?
A look up to the left and right where the numbers of the Dewey International Classification System was painted onto the columns; C600, 750, and on and on. The library houses over 600,000 books and occupies over 400,000 square feet.
But let’s discuss the “whale” in the room. There is an emblematic sculpture hanging from the center of the atrium called "Matrix Móvil”, which is a plastic replication of a gray whale skeleton created by artist Gabriel Orozco. Suspended from the ceiling, it is a symbol of benevolence and manages to steal your attention from the architecture if only for a moment.
There were clusters of students on various outdoor patios practicing dance choreographies. A group of 3 girls at one, and a group of 5 boys at another using the reflective glass of the building as a mirror or a sympathetic judge. From the inside, the waving and kicking distracted me from my task at hand, like an advertising window that opens on the blog that I’m reading. They along with the dedicated Área de Niños and the many friend groups congregating in seated areas softened the hard edges of the book cages.
Security guards are apportioned at every level like human support posts. They are stationed to protect the integrity of the library and to offer friendly guidance to the couples making out in the corners, the guest who came seeking peace to work, and to families who were there to find books for a teenager’s school project. Every visitor appeared relaxed in the space, as they would in the den of their own home.
I walked past neat rows of filled seats in the atrium as a presenter related to every attentive guest. Vasconcelos Library provides free access to the library and to various cultural exhibitions, workshops; anything that enriches its public.
There are terraces for guests to take a break and enjoy some outdoor space, and outside the building is an extensive gardened green space created to be enjoyed, not just revered by its patrons. The garden functionally juxtaposes the machine-like interior with a soft sensitivity.
I decided that I was in love. Where else would I encounter a marvel of architecture that invoked so much emotion including fear and wonder? It is “brutally” obvious why Biblioteca Vasconcelos is one of the most beloved places in Mexico City.
See Mexico in all its glory here in this relaxation film: Magical Mexico
