Shortlisted for rebirth project of the year at Dezeen Awards 2019, LocHal library by Civic Architects, Inside Outside and Braaksma & Roos Architectenbureau, occupies a former locomotive shed in Tilburg, the Netherlands.

Located in the Dutch city’s station district, the LocHal library is named after the huge locomotive building in which it is housed. Through the project, the architects wanted to give a new meaning to the function of a library in the digital age. This large former train repair shed made of steel and glass was turned into a monument in order to save it from demolition. The three Dutch architecture practices developed a plan that both respects and protects the building, retaining much of the industrial building's steel structure with its tall glass windows and towering riveted columns.

Stairs run between several floors, into which openings are cut to bring light into the spaces underneath. Designed as contemporary reinterpretations of the existing building, new solid structures made from black steel, concrete, glass and oak are combined with a series of movable giant textile screens, which hang the entire 15 metre room height, creating flexible zones within the folded landscape.

Architect: Civic Architects, Inside Outside/Petra Blaisse and Braaksma & Roos Architectenbureau
Project: LocHal library