Virgilio Barco Library

Virgilio Barco Public Library is a Public library in the western sector of Bogotá, Colombia, is part of BibloRed, the District's Public Library Network.^[1][2] The building was designed by architect Rogelio Salmona, and forms part of the Simón Bolívar Metropolitan Park. Its inauguration took place on December 21, 2001, named after former President Virgilio Barco Vargas.^[3]

Virgilio Barco Public Library
4.6571°N 74.0885°W / 4.6571; -74.0885
Location	Colombia
Type	public
Architect(s)	Rogelio Salmona
Service area	36.812 m²
Collection
Size	150.000 items

The design of the building is notable for its emphasis of water management,^[4] with water pools on the outside.^[5] The library and its surrounding park together form one of seven sites which make up the serial property "The architectural legacy of Rogelio Salmona: an ethical, political, social and poetic manifesto." Colombia's permanent delegation to UNESCO submitted the site to the country's Tentative List for the World Heritage List in 2022.^[6]

Architecture

Library entrance

The library building was designed by Rogelio Salmona, also known for the Torres del Parque, the National Archive building, Gabriel García Márquez's house in Cartagena, the National University's Postgraduate Building in Social Sciences, among others.

For the construction of the library, Salmona took into account its interrelation with the public space, forming a series of geographical, landscape, historical, and experiential values.^[3]