Already built in the Center for Contemporary Art, based in the old Turkish bathhouse in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the |CON|Temporary Library Installation by Studio 8 ½ contains solely books of contemporary art. It provides many comfortable places to sit/lay, bookcases, magazines and newspapers’ shelves, as well as a computer with very rich and detailed multimedia and video archive of contemporary artists.Built using wood, the entire installation is created with a tremendous respect for its surrounding area, since without it, this effect would not be as strong. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The installation is located at the largest and main room of the abandoned since decades old Turkish bath (also known as hammam). The bath is a unique architectural monument from the XVI century built over an even older Roman bath. The traditional Turkish bath has been reconstructed many times over the years and it has been working and used until the 90s of the XXth century. The building is an architectural monument of local importance and is one of the few buildings of this period in the city of Plovdiv preserved until nowadays. After being completely deserted and forgotten “Chifte Bath” (Meaning used by both males and females) is brought to life by the Association “Art Today”.
