The final lengths of the cross walls arranged on the periphery are defined by the structurally necessary width of the secondary walls of the outer core areas. In this way the outer zone of the reading area is being created, which further breaks up in the ground plan that was ultimately realized (figure 51). The outer walls have the same dimension as the overall figure break up in this step. But as the parts are to be kept together in a state of tension, in balance, Kahn adds indented diagonal walls running within a line of the square. They prevent the figure from disintegrating completely.
In the book stack four columns, arranged in a square in each case, indicate the old grid structure and suggest progressive partialization of ground plan structure fixed within a system of figurative geometry in the previous stages.
At first glance the Exeter Library is a very simply structured, symmetrical form in its outward
Appearance. But viewers who wonder what processes, that are not directly perceptible but still tension-laden, are concealed behind this carefully designed architecture will find that their eyes remain fixed on this building, on its facades and details for a long time .Closer examination reveals complex connections that above all reveal one lf Kahn’s main intentions: that of developing architecture drawn from a universal language, from a lasting vocabulary not related to its time, and giving it symbolic character and vibrant tension. As has just been demonstrated, it is order, understood comprehensively, that forms the basis for this in Kahn’s work.