Furniture for libraries: from modern to classic models. Style and decorative details

Passing the gallery

Leading headings: Elena Prytula

A photo: Mikhail Stepanov, Vitaly Nefedov

Magazine: Na (58) 2002

Picking up books is not just a hobby. This is a special philosophy of life, bearing the echo of a long-standing admiration for the book, a sense of the magical power of the word embodied in it. The essence of this philosophy has not changed for almost three millennia. Changes concern only its visible forms ... Until recently, library furniture was perhaps the least influenced by fashion. The reason lies in its clearly marked function - storing books and creating a comfortable atmosphere for working with them. It would seem that everything has changed around - the book culture turned out to be the very area that high technology should have been simply canceled. The most extensive medieval monastic libraries, which occupied vast areas and amazed the contemporaries, would fit on several diskettes today. However, the virtual method of storing information, on the contrary, made me think about the value of the printed word. The main element in the interior of the library was and remains, of course, bookcases. They are followed by comfortable armchairs and sofas, a variety of tables for reading and writing, similar to the music stands of the stand, on which huge folios or geographical maps can be placed. Finally, special stairs, through which the reader can get to the upper shelves of the cabinet. In other words, the set of items of library furniture remains almost unchanged almost from the time of the Alexandrian Library. As before, a special attitude to books is expressed in the way they are stored. Classical furniture for libraries has the status of a luxury item and therefore, as a rule, is richly decorated. So, HENREDON, one of the most respectable American companies, prefers to make cabinets of precious wood; GIEMME's library furniture is mostly handmade; libraries from MOBILDERI decorated with sculpture and author's reliefs. Moreover, within the framework of the classical style, each factory has its own unique style. So, the masters of the company RICHELIEU specialize in recreating the best examples of furniture art of the XVII, XVIII and XIX centuries. Similar replicas of antique furniture are extremely popular today, since, being modern in terms of comfort, they retain the charm of antiquity. The design of the MOBILDERI factory is based on the traditions of the Renaissance: carving and reliefs are made of solid wood and are completely processed by hand. Of course, different styles and decorative details have always existed in different countries: for example, the bookcases of the famous factory GRANGE are distinguished by true French charm and national sense of style. And yet, despite the obvious conservatism, modern design proves that the design of libraries is not a dogma. The main advantage of modern systems is the freedom and diversity of the layout. The slenderness of "architecture" and the almost mathematical logic of construction make one recall that even in the era of cuneiform tablets the function of libraries consisted not only in storage, but also in cataloging and organizing books. I must say that in the performance of LIGNE ROSET, TISETTANTA or INTERLUBKE logic and mathematics look extremely elegant. To the creation of modern libraries, companies attract well-known designers - for example, the Ex Libris system for LIGNE ROSET created Pascal Murg, and Archetype for BAKER - Michael Vanderbil. Finally, the use of library furniture in a modern home is becoming increasingly free. The library today does not require a separate room - bookcases fit organically into the interior of living rooms and bedrooms. The traditional set of library furniture is crushed and played up in accordance with modernist aesthetics, taking on the appearance of shelving (BAKER), этажерок (DI LIDDA&PEREGA) или многофункциональных "пилонов", как у KETTNAKER. Впрочем, как бы ни менялась внешняя форма, любой "библиотечный" предмет всегда будет обладать для нас силой притяжения традиции. Ведь книги, как выяснилось, не боятся перемен...