Max Dudler erected a remarkable memorial in honour of an allegedly dying architectural task. In doing so, he revealed that city libraries are by no means zombies of a digitised media landscape, but in fact can be lively institutions.
You aren’t
going to offend Heidenheim if you don’t consider the industrial city on the
Brenz to be one of the jewels of East Wuerttemberg. It’s the origin of
machines, medical adhesive plasters and Erwin Rommel, a general field marshal
known across the world. But Heidenheim is now providing us with evidence that a
city library can become an epicentre of urban life. With the cubature of his
competition entry, Dudler aimed to convey the urban planning of a historically
small city centre and the expansions from the 19th century.
At a length of
110 metres, the wing is crowned by five surface-mounted cubic houses of
different heights. This clinker facade in light beige attempts to establish a
colour link to Hellenstein castle, which looks over the city and library.
Appearing to be freely arranged from outside, the window openings also lend the
construction a solitary air. But considering the heterogeneous environment,
this isn’t a discontinuity, but an enrichment.
Architectural
learning curve
The
interior reveals the architect’s mastery in dealing with the architectural
task, which has become a trademark of his work. Management at the city library
even acknowledges having experienced an architectural learning curve during the
planning period. At the same time, however, the management also succeeded in
making the architect aware of the special workflow requirements of a public
city library – which at the time were new to Max Dudler.
The library has been enhanced with a café, media centre, city archive and event hall, but it’s by no means these added functions that make the building a success. In fact, it’s actually the spectacular second floor, which celebrates books as an age-old medium. Over the entire length of the building there is a series of five superelevated reading rooms in the cubes visible from outside and the lower cabinets in between. Here, the local librarians fought quite a tough, hopeless battle for colour in the city library.
Figure: The arrangement of the windows becomes clear only on the inside.
Cathedral of bibliophilia
Ultimately, the losers were also happy about this defeat. After all, the trillions of coloured spines on the open shelves can now express themselves peacefully in this cathedral of bibliophilia. All the interior surfaces and the specially designed furniture are white. A light oak veneer sets accents only here and there. The polished concrete terrazzo, which was laid by a company from Baden-Württemberg, is grey – a tiny bit of colour can be found only in the children’s book area. A cube veneered in a light oak on the outside features the small, brightly coloured alcoves of the “children’s fort”.
Yes,
the café on the entrance level is well staffed, and yes, the department with
digital media, the picture-lending library and the gaming room have a couple of
visitors even on rainy days. Those looking to enjoy the view from the
marvellous and self-explanatory large windows also get their money’s worth. But
the true eye-catcher are the books. And the number of gaps on the shelves is
proof that the librarians believe in the future of the medium. Books may no
longer be the first reference people turn to, but they are still popular as
educational novels and among children. By all means, Heidenheim library is an
educational example of a well conceptualized city library free of inhibitions
that appropriately places books on a pedestal, celebrating them with an
emblematic architecture.
Figure: The beige clinker facade establishes a link to Hellenstein castle, which overlooks the city from high above.
Figure: The few coloured accents can be found in the “children’s fort”.
Figure: The heart of the city library – the impressive hall with
stairway.
Figure left: Glare-free daylight peaks through the perforations in the clinker facade.
Figure right: The building is rounded off by a small event room.
Hörmann
expertise:
Industrial sectional doors
The long building structure of the Heidenheim city library at Willy-Brandt-Platz in Heidenheim is extremely elegant and minimalistic. The most eye-catching design characteristic of the facade: visually frameless window surfaces. Two anthracite-coloured industrial sectional doors from Hörmann were integrated into the facade – a perfect match. They form the entrance and exit of the underground garage. The entrance especially plays a crucial role in the facade. Besides the perforated clinker façade and the panorama window in the ground floor, it is the only opening on the narrow front side of the library. In turn, the exit, with its less prominent design, is located on the longitudinal side. Here, cars exit the downstairs level via the ramp parallel to the facade, which flows into a cut-out section within the cube, which also forms the entrance to the media centre. At the exit, the door is rotated 90 degrees to the facade, giving it a much less prominent placement than the entrance. Still, it corresponds with the doors in a matching colour in the entrance area.
Figure: The entrance to
the underground car park is protected by an industrial sectional door. Its
advantages include minimal space requirements and fast running.
Figure: The exit of the
underground car park is located on the longitudinal side of the building and is
far less conspicuous than the entrance.
Location:Willy-Brandt-Platz 1, 89522 Heidenheim, Germany
Hörmann products:Industrial sectional doors SPU F42, fire sliding door T30
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