Ludescher + Lutz Architekten
Vorarlberg State Library, conversion and adaptation
best architects 23
renovation and addition
Place
Bregenz, Austria
Studio
Photos
Gustav Willeit
Description
Since 1986, the Vorarlberg State Library, one of
Austria’s most modern, has been located on the site of a former Benedictine
monastery, set at the foot of the Gebhardsberg peak. In order for the library
to fulfil new functions brought about by the advent of digital media and
dramatic changes in user behaviour, it was time to adapt the entrance and
access situation of the main building as well as the facilities inside. The
central idea behind the design was to relocate the main entrance and thus open
up the library to the city while at the same time breaking the link between
Babenwohl Palace and the main building, thus freeing the palace with its fourteenth-century
foundation walls to stand on its own. The library is now entered via the park
on the northwest side, where a generous flight of steps in keeping with the
architectural style leads centrally into the former monastery building (main
building). The view from afar of the complex, set amidst old-growth trees,
speaks the language of the Wilhelminian period and Jugendstil. The ensemble was, so to speak, already complete with
the onset of modernity. Ludescher + Lutz try to emulate this mood by using
sturdy materials such as concrete, lime render and solid wood. Perhaps they
have thus succeeded in creating a place where time passes more slowly: evolution
rather than revolution, further development that shows appreciation for what
has gone before.