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
Public
Collaborator(s)
UTIL Struktuurstudies, HP engineers, Landinzicht, Richard Venlet
Design team
Kersten Geers, David Van Severen, Alexander Smedts, Anne van Hout, Leander Venlet, Shinji Terada
Art integration
Richard Venlet
Awards
Competition, 1st prize
Photographs
Bas Princen