Educational Animation Landscape at Fjord Deichman Bjorvika in Oslo

This article examines the library architecture ofthe Deichman Bj & oslash;rvika Library (DBO, 2020) in Oslo, with a particular focus on the structural effects on user behaviour and social interactions. The marvelling visitors are asked to position themselves both in the concrete experience ofthe place and in terms ofsocial space. The library's offerings are structurally similar to those ofa shopping mall, and visitors' usage behavior is linked to the practices in malls. Rem Koolhaas' Seattle Library from 2004 proves to be an important reference work for DBO, influences of Ray Oldenburg's concept ofthe third place (1989) are still noticeable. In the analysis section, the article follows two associations ofthe German architecture critic Niklas Maak, firstly the comparison ofthe Oslo Central Library with a museum space and secondly the reference to the Dutch painter and sculptor Constant Nieuwenhuys (1920-2005, alias Constant) and his Gesamtkunstwerk New Babylon (1956-1974). Finally, Constant's utopia of a collective space continuum and of connectivity is related to a physical-digital interlaced literature mediation measure by DBO and a preliminary assessment ofthe structural-social ensemble is given.