Berlin Central Central Library | HENN

Architecture, Educational Buildings, Library

Berlin Central Central Library

The plan for the Berlin Central and Regional Library foresees the housing of individual facilities under one roof. The compact, 12-storey new building on the southern edge of the Tempelhof airfield will form an interface between the vibrant urban area and the expansive green spaces. With its geometrical form, the structure stands apart from the adjacent commercial and residential buildings. A wide path leads from Tempelhofer Damm to the entrance of the building and on its eastern side further into the park. The building is designed as a stack of individual rectangular blocks with transparent and opaque facade areas which reflect the library’s differentiated use of space and appear to alternate with each other when viewed from the outside.

courtesy of © 24studio

The open design ground floor contains public areas which can be used independently of the library. The first three upper floors, which are inaccessible to the public, are used for storerooms and act as a buffer to the higher-level library reading rooms. The actual public areas are located on the top six floors. Users enter the library via a central atrium that provides clear orientation. The working and communication areas of the individual specialist departments form a staggered arrangement on four platforms visually connected with each other. They join together like glazed terraces to form a spiral space with an open view in all directions – over the city and the park.