New Libraries in Old Buildings

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://edoc.hu-berlin.de/18452/24032

Edited on behalf of IFLA by Petra Hauke, Karen Latimer and Robert Niess

This publication is supported by the Institut für Bibliotheks- und Informationswissenschaft (Berlin School for Library and Information Science) at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
For further information please visit the book project’s website at:
https://www.ibi.hu-berlin.de/de/studium/studprojekte/buchidee

Das Werk ist lizenziert unter der
Creative Commons Lizenz 4.0 International Lizenz (CC BY-ND 4.0)
ISBN der Druckausgabe: 978-3-11-067951-9
Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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2021-06-21Buch
New Libraries in Old Buildings
(Philosophische Fakultät) Hauke, Petra; Latimer, Karen; Niess, Robert; Hauke, Petra; Latimer, Karen; Niess, Robert
This book focuses on difficulties and opportunities in revitalization of old, derelict or abandoned buildings into a library and investigates the transformation of buildings which originally had a different purpose. The publication shows worldwide best practice examples from different types of libraries in historic environments, both urban and rural, while maintaining a focus on sustainability concerning the architecture and interior design.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
Preface
Hauke, Petra; Latimer, Karen; Niess, Robert
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
Exceptional Libraries and Distinctive Architecture: Celebrating Reuse
Niess, Robert
This chapter traces some of the origins, developments and newer tendencies in reuse architecture from the perspective of the architect. Furthermore, it examines possible sustainability issues and qualities, beyond the obvious recycling aspect, inherently rooted in the practice of reuse architecture. The chapter also provides insight into some of the practical aspects of conversion and adaptive reuse from the planning stage at the drawing board to the reality of the building site, while maintaining a theoretical underpinning of this praxis, which the author considers to be a genre of its own. Accompanying the theoretical and practical overview, the chapter casts a critical eye over the relationship of formalised historic preservation methods and traditions in relation to the growth and popularity of reuse architecture and questions its future trajectory.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
Using Historic Buildings to House New Libraries: Prerequisites and Conditions for Successful Revival
Romero, Santi
This chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the rehabilitation of historic buildings for library use. The architectural characteristics of different types of historic buildings are examined to ascertain which are the most suitable for new use as a library. A work methodology is also proposed to help assess the suitability of housing new libraries in historic buildings, diagnosing the conservation status and precisely determining the actions to be followed. Finally, the factors that should come together before accepting the proposal to create a library in a historic building are listed. Examples provided are taken from projects in Spain.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
The Reuse of Buildings: Libraries Behaving Sustainably
Latimer, Karen
The chapter takes a broad overview starting from the premise that reuse of buildings has obvious benefits in terms of recycling materials and retaining the embodied energy contained within the structure. It focuses on the opportunity for libraries to adopt a fully sustainable approach by locating in existing buildings in need of a new use which has the added advantage of creating a sense of place and community identity. Examples of old buildings that have been brought back into use as libraries are discussed as are the challenges of sensitively adapting listed buildings and blending old and new elements respectfully and imaginatively. Most of the examples discussed are drawn from the United Kingdom and Ireland although reference is made to other worldwide examples.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
Patyegarang Place with a New Library and Pavilion Revitalizing a Hospital for Sydney’s Inner West Community
Small, Kim; McLeod, Caroline
A new library and pavilion have been built for Sydney’s Inner West community from an abandoned hospital building. Following on from an invited design excellence competition, the public was invited to vote for their favourite designs. The Inner West Council selected the design proposal by architects BVN for its originality and approach to blending the heritage-listed buildings with a contemporary structure. Situated on the old Marrickville Hospital, the development established opportunities for urban revitalisation by retaining and embracing the previously abandoned hospital building, adding to it a new building which transforms the site into a new community hub. The heritage-listed Marrickville Hospital building has been carefully refurbished internally and externally, forming the administration areas, small meeting rooms, collection and study areas with outdoor reading areas along newly reinstated verandas. Connected to the old hospital building is a new structure which provides open areas to meet, work, learn and socialise, including a foyer, café, function space, learning rooms, technology area and dedicated junior and youth areas.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
A Fire Hall Reused for Windsor Public Library’s John Muir Branch in Ontario, Canada
Mayer, Rebekah
In 2016, the Windsor Public Library Board (WPLB) purchased an abandoned historic fire hall and stable and through an extensive and challenging adaptive reuse project, opened the John Muir Branch in September 2019. Designed by architect, composer and heritage professional Jason Grossi, the space offers unique acoustics and modern aesthetics that honour the original character of the heritage building. The case study considers the challenges faced in revitalising the building and how the public library has provided an innovative space to support the needs of the community and 21st century library users.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
Cultural Reconstruction of a Traditional Chinese Courtyard House into the Suochengli Neighbourhood Library
Li, Yang
Suochengli Neighbourhood Library is located in a traditional Chinese siheyuan/courtyard house in the back garden of the historic Zhang Ancestral Hall in the port of Yantai in the Shandong Province of China. Over the years, owners and occupiers of the courtyard added new buildings and, although the original complex had been compromised, the additional structures were all precious evidence of the development of the complex over time. The relationship between the old and the new became the focus of a renovation project to bring the courtyard back into use suitable for a modern lifestyle while respecting its heritage. The site comprises three bungalows and a cloister which reframed the courtyard into several smaller connected sections. The various structures had the capacity to accommodate all the functions required of a modern library, including an inviting entrance, reading area, café, gallery and toilet. The library reading room and courtyard are connected by a sliding door which increases the flexibility of the main floor space and enables a range of activities to take place.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
Converting and Extending a Historic Fire Station into a Library in Berlin, Germany
Niess, Robert; Radzkowski, Jürgen
The new central library in Treptow, Berlin, Germany is located in a listed, early 20th century fire station which had been in a state of neglect for many years. The building is in a historic area and is surrounded by other important listed buildings including a waterworks building and a school. The renovation and extension of the building provided the district with an exciting and well-located new library and restored a landmark building to its former glory. The project was challenging in many ways not least because of the importance of maintaining the integrity of the original building, which has several constituent parts, while ensuring that it worked with the new extension to form a cohesive new complex which functioned well as a library. Materials for the extension were selected with care to complement the old, particularly in addressing the new roofscape as a whole. The crux of the project was to retain a building which is a symbol of the past, but which also creates a new contemporary library. The library is on three levels and the new extension connects to the historic building on the ground and first floors. The library is welcoming with a spacious entrance and a central information and service counter with a good overview of the whole space. In addition, the library is barrier-free, flooded with natural light and able to be used for events outside normal opening hours. The competition brief included specific requirements from the library staff which have been successfully met in the final design despite all the challenges posed.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
Building Community Through Transforming 17th Century Barns in Kirchzarten, Germany
Süppel, Petra; Sutter, Willi; Manz, Angelika
The renovated barns of Talvogtei, a former moated castle, in Kirchzarten in south-western Germany constitute compelling examples of the value of transforming historic buildings no longer in use for their original purposes to new meaningful public use. In the view of both users and visitors, the tension generated between the modern and the historic structural elements creates a strong aesthetic impact. The chapter discusses the conversion of the one-time barns into the Mediathek/Multimedia Centre/Library in Kirchzarten as one way in which municipalities deal effectively with their architectural heritage. The concept brief developed for the Kirchzarten Mediathek/Multimedia Centre/Library describes it as a third place (Oldenburg and Brissett 1982) in a community of 10,000 inhabitants.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
The Mössingen Library Emerges from the Pausa Tonnenhalle in Germany
Frank, Michael B.; Kadi, Canan
A barrel hall, designed in 1950/51 by the architect Manfred Lehmbruck as a textile printing hall for the Pausa company and extended in 1962 into a larger industrial complex was listed as a historical monument after the company went bankrupt in 2004. In 2011, the structure found a new use as the Mössingen public library when the building was renovated and converted in accordance with listed building regulations. The philosophy, and the benefits and challenges of combining a new use with a historic building, are described from the point of view of the architect and of the librarian. The project architect outlines the context informing his strongly held belief in the importance of connecting places and buildings with their history. The solutions that met the requirements of both the new use as a library and the protection and preservation of a listed building are described. The librarian discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the conversion and the library’s importance to users.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
Rehabilitating a Textile Plant for Barcelona’s Les Corts Neighbourhood Library
Rogel, Ricard Mercadé; Grané, Aurora Fernández; Nevado, Jordi Gual
The Montserrat Abelló library is the most recent public library to be opened in the city of Barcelona. The library occupies a former textile plant built in 1924. The project gives new life to a symbolic building in the Les Corts neighbourhood and evokes its history. An industrial building is designed to be a self-contained complex operating independently within its environment. Its operation is the opposite of what is required of a public library, which should relate closely to its surroundings and its neighbourhood. The assignment of a new use to an industrial building in the city enables the structure to continue, despite its location. Rehabilitation and reuse should respect the building’s values and key features and ideally correct any shortcomings, without changing its essential character. Establishing a clear connection between the interior and the exterior was one of the major challenges of the project. The project was carried out with a sustainability and energy efficiency agenda including gaining BREEAM Certification.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
Repurposing a Grocery Store for the Joutsa Public Library in Finland
Kuikka, Nina
In 2004, the new Joutsa Public Library moved into a renovated former grocery store. Everyone benefitted. The library found a perfect location in the middle of the municipal service centre, which was spared one more sad, empty building. The preparation phase was long and complicated having commenced in 1995. But the renovation phase was quick and took only six months. The building dates from the late 1970s. Few major structural changes were needed to improve the appearance, safety and usability. The result is very flexible with much-appreciated creative shelving solutions and space arrangements. Skilful architects did an excellent job, and the customers find it difficult to believe the origin of the building. The use of the library has increased with greater numbers of customers, increased loans and enhanced event participation justifying the approach taken and demonstrating its success.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
Creating a Library from a Locomotive Shed in Tilburg, the Netherlands
Boemaars, Jeske
The LocHal is both an imposing and inviting public meeting place located in the Spoorzone district in Tilburg in the south of the Netherlands. A former locomotive shed constructed in 1932 has undergone an intensive and splendid conversion involving excellent collaboration of several architectural firms and designers. It houses the Bibliotheek LocHal/LocHal Library of the Midden Brabant region which consists of six municipalities in the centre of the province of Noord-Brabant, and several other organisations. The new library has redefined its functions and provides a wide range of opportunities for users, not only facilitating access to information, but also ample opportunity for the creation of new knowledge and information as well as interactive and engaging activities. In addition to various areas for lectures and events, the library has a series of labs focusing on topics ranging from food to words where visitors can learn experientially and gain new skills. The LocHal library offers a unique learning and working environment where everyone is challenged to think outside the box, deviate from the beaten path, meet new people, learn and experiment. The new facility has proved popular with everyone and has been described as the beating heart of the district.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
Converting the Utrecht Post Office into the Neude Library
van Grunsven, Jan; Kellerhuis, Bart; van Vlimmeren, Ton
In 2014, the city council of Utrecht decided not to proceed with building the new library that had been planned for sixteen years, arguing that reuse of an existing building would be the preferred option. Reuse of the privately owned main post office was the alternative presented, leading to the opening of the Neude Library in 2020. To implement the proposal successfully, the architects were obliged to connect the historic building into the fabric of the city. Another challenge was to create logical, navigable public spaces in a building designed originally for people who never went beyond the magnificent main hall. In the building, work and study places, the collection and rooms for activities competed for the available space. The Neude Library has not only a wonderful main hall for events and exhibitions but also a movie room, theatre, café, brasserie and lobby for the theatre and meeting rooms, and a lab for modern technology. The post office was built as a Gesamtkunstwerk (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesamt kunstwerk) with different forms of art added to the architecture. During the whole process the citizens of Utrecht were kept informed and engaged in the process through tours, think tanks and a series of 21 short movies on the building process.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
The Conversion of a Science Institute to a Faculty Library in Ghent, Belgium
Buschmann, Paul; Van der Meulen, Anne-Lise; Van Den Berghe, Raf
The Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte/Faculty of Arts and Philosophy of Universiteit Gent/Ghent University held 50 different library collections, containing 670,000 books, which were scattered over 222 different locations in the city of Ghent. The dispersed collections were a legacy of the former seminar instruction method favoured by many professors in the past and no longer met the needs of academic research and education in the 21st century. A masterplan was developed to bring the collections together. Central to the plan was the renovation of the historic neoclassical building known as the Institut des Sciences/Institute for the Sciences dating from 1892. The project included both the renovation of the building and the amalgamation of all 50 collections under one roof. A primary concern during the renovation process was finding the appropriate balance between the requirements of historic building conservation and the needs of a modern library. After more than ten years of preparation, planning, restoration and relocation, the large new faculty library was opened with much celebration in 2018. The new library in its historic building, with 13 km of bookshelves, 8,000 m² and 1,000 study places, showcases the spirit of the faculty.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
A Cattle Market Becomes a University Library in Germany
Regulski, Katharina
The Hochschule Düsseldorf/University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf (HSD) moved to a completely new campus in Düsseldorf Derendorf in 2016. The site had been formerly used as a municipal slaughterhouse. The library is in a heritage listed building, an old cattle market hall. This chapter describes the history of the buildings including their original use as municipal slaughterhouse and cattle market hall and their abuse during the Nazi regime in the 1940s as a gathering place for people being deported. The historic context demanded sensitive reuse and provided the impetus to establish a memorial within the building that has now become the Hochschulbibliothek/University Library. The planning process for the reuse of the building is outlined from the viewpoint of the library, and the technical infrastructure, architecture and interior design are described. The historical preservation of the building, the history of the building itself and the requirements regarding the new use influenced the design decisions and provided special challenges to all groups involved in the planning process.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
Integrating New Functions into the Historic Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek in Weimar, Germany
Knoche, Michael; Barz-Malfatti, Hilde; Schmitz, Karl-Heinz
Despite a fire in the library, the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek in Weimar opened its extension in February 2005 on schedule. The new Study Centre covers an area five times larger than the corresponding rooms in the old library and offers readers 120,000 volumes on open access. The new underground stacks constructed at the same time offer good preservation storage conditions for up to one million volumes. It is a great advantage that an underground connection integrated the new build with the old and eliminated any potential division of the library. The new Book Cube with its clear geometry is the centre of the diversely proportioned group of buildings and a modern counterpart to the Rococo hall of the original green palace. The four internal walls of the Cube are designed as multi-storey bookshelves with galleries above and below ground. A sequence of underground rooms connects the Cube to the historic library building. It has been possible to create an integrated entity combining the new and the old, not by imitation, but by treating the whole ensemble.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
From Locomotives to Libraries at Wildau Technical University, Germany
Niess, Robert; Seeliger, Frank
The Hochschulbibliothek/Library of the Technische Hochschule Wildau/Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau (TH Wildau) is housed in Hall 10, a former locomotive shed constructed in 1920 and located on the former industrial site of the Schwartzkopff factory south of Berlin, Germany. The complexity and demands of accommodating the multiple functions of the library along with the historic protection of the building made the project especially challenging. The University required a 21st century academic library combined with a canteen and café housed in a listed building. The underlying philosophy for the architects was to retain the character, spatial quality and structural integrity of the original building while creating a new, interpretive architectural expression for the extension and renovation. New materials and techniques echoed and complemented the old. Inexplicably the final bay of the former locomotive shed was never completed and the new project a century later was able both to return the building to its original length and symbolically mark the new use as a library. The library moved from uninspiring and inadequate quarters to a stunningly restored building in an imposing site that was full of character and had an ambience that was a great draw for users. For the librarians, the project provided the opportunity to raise the library’s profile, introduce new services through the exploitation of innovative technologies, and embrace a whole range of state-of-the-art uses, events and cooperative ventures. Advantages and drawbacks of the project are discussed and the benefits of reusing a historic building for a modern academic library are highlighted.
2021-06-21Teil eines Buches
Reviving the Hexagon for the University Library on the Luminy Campus of Aix- Marseille University
Lespets, Samuel; Marciano, Rémy
The Hexagone Bibliothèque Universitaire de Sciences de Luminy, Aix-Marseille Université / Hexagon University Library at the Luminy campus of the Aix-Marseille University is located near the entrance to the Calanques National Park on the outskirts of Marseille in France. The Hexagon was the university restaurant from the early 1960s and regarded as the heart of the campus. It was closed early this century when a new restaurant was built. It became famous for its graffiti and housed many stunning murals. Opération Campus, a national programme for campus redevelopment, retained the Luminy campus for its research potential and the development plan included use of the hexagonal building to house the new library and several other services to the university community. A local architect was chosen to reinterpret the Hexagon and adapt its reuse to the highest international standards. Following constructive dialogue between librarians, the architect and the university consulting architect, the new Luminy Hexagon Library was designed and opened in September 2018. It combines the comfort of a social place on campus with the latest equipment for supporting learning, teaching and research. The chapter describes how librarians and architects worked together to reactivate the Hexagon as the heart of the campus.

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