OFFICE  KGDVS

OFFICE 229

PUBLIC LIBRARY – Sint Martens Latem

The new library for the municipality of Sint-Martens-Latem is first of all a central gathering point. In the tradition of the cultural center, the library is set up as a large living space, shared by the residents of the municipality. A saddle-shaped roof is delimited by a circular perimeter. The perimeter cuts the roof shape into a distinctive figure in the center of the municipality, as anchor point, as the first element of a cluster of public buildings – buildings in the village center, along the road and along the new municipal settlement. The rounded plastered perimeter makes the main space of the library building. The wooden library cabinets inside are built alongside and also carry the roof. The cabinet wall defines the separation line between library spaces and municipality. In the round perimeter, a square figure makes both the reading garden and the polyvalent hall. The reading garden is the center of the library, as the ‘largest room in the largest house’ of the municipality.

Year

2017 – 2023

Location

Sint-Martens-Latem, BE

Type

Culture, Education, Public,

Status

Built

Surface

865 m2

Client

Municipality of Sint-Martens-Latem

Collaborator(s)

UTIL Struktuurstudies, hp engineers, Landinzicht

Design team

Kersten Geers, David Van Severen, Alexander Smedts, Anne van Hout, Leander Venlet, Shinji Terada, Benoît Perrier

Art integration

Richard Venlet

Award

Competition, 1st prize

Photographs

Bas Princen

Info