Dubbed Nest, this concept imagines a new space in a near-future world where humans and artificial intelligence have established a mutualistic, long-term creative partnership. The space includes a collaborative terrace, virtual reality experience space, and studios for film, photography, art, and music.

The brief challenged participants to re-imagine civic space in the form of a library in the year 2049. The assigned site was the main public library of San Francisco, which was built in 1996 and sits adjacent to City Hall. "Already, public libraries have had to adapt to the age of the internet and the changing habits of staff and visitors," said the invitation, "transforming from passive collections of books to active zones for collaboration and creation. What other changes could we see in the next 25 years?" 

The winning entry was called Nest. Winning architects, Perkins&Will, described it this way: "Architecturally, the new building is defined by a unifying timber roof and hanging canopy with catwalks linking together workspaces. Beyond being a natural extension of the existing library, Nest is an idea incubator, designed to host sophisticated tools like artificial intelligence that will be used by citizens to create solutions of the future."

Other concepts included a farmer’s market in the shadow of a vertical urban farm that harvests rainwater to grow food, and a meditative sanctuary that offers respite from AI-accelerated information overload.

ARTICLE: Winners of Perkins&Will’s 2024 Phil Freelon Design Competition Imagine the Civic Library of 2049