Contextus: A Modern Intervention in the Urban Fabric

Abstract

The word "context" originates in "contextus", which is Latin for "weaving." An architectural question arises as to how a building can so integrate itself with a community that is it truly woven into the urban fabric.

The Shaw Neighborhood branch of the District of Columbia Public Library system closed in 2004. The building at the intersection of 7th Street and Rhode Island Avenue could no longer serve the needs of the community, and shall be replaced by a new facility on the same site. What are the needs of the community that should be addressed, and by what methods? As a civic building, what role will the new library play beyond that of a place to find books? What are the contexts that the new architecture will confront, and how does this building transcend the contexts of the present to endure as something equally valuable in the future?