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The archive itself is then surrounded by public spaces and a plateau on top, which incorporates the reading room and deck and the bookshelf areas. This enables the archive to stay at a stable 18 degrees, important for the maintenance of historic documents.

That’s why the compact five-level archive is at the centre of the building, encased by a wrapping of stone filled Gabion cages. Given the library’s precious cargo which includes medieval manuscripts, maps, plans, prints, posters and artist books, the storage depots are designed to be secure and provide the right conditions.

The area at the northwest comprises five storage levels in which the main heritage collections are stored, and above which you’ll find the main reading room which opens out to the treetops of Grunewald Park.

The intermediary zone has more consultation decks facing outwards, with a glass façade.

The entrance zone with a two-story reception area, bordered by the conference room floor and consultation areas.

The library opened its doors in late 2019. German architects Bolles + Wilson from Münster have designed many music halls and schools, and were tasked with making the space not only functional as a library and for valuable document storage, but also as energy efficient and sustainable as possible. The €112 million building was designed to showcase the library’s treasures, provide meeting spaces and educational rooms, and an atmosphere for both reflection and study, and debate and exchange.

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The space also houses the Bicherbus, plus the libraries of the Grand Ducal Institute and the Luxembourg Prehistoric Society. In addition to printed publications, the library offers its readers an ever-growing number of digital documents from e-books and electronic journals to digitalised Luxembourgish works, archived documents and web pages. It’s academic and scientific status means that about three quarters of its printed collection comes from abroad. The BnL collects, catalogues and preserves all printed and digital publications published in Luxembourg and any works published abroad that relate to the Grand Duchy. The collective memory of Luxembourg, it is an essential cornerstone in the country’s heritage, but also the Grand Duchy’s leading scientific and academic library. The innovated offset facade panels design allowed for spans across multiple floors eliminating the continuous stack joint at each floor reinforcing the interlocking facade concept and checkerboard fenestration pattern.The Luxembourg National Library (BnL) houses more than 1.8 million printed documents and publications.

Additionally, with selection of the two contrasting concrete mix designs with integral color, building finishes were achieved to complement the existing historic studio buildings while expressing the unique stacked appearance of the building. Thinshell precast panels addressed all of these requirements. The unique facade geometry necessitated selection of a strong and durable exterior cladding material with a strong waterproofed surface, a material that was at the same time light weight to reduce load on the building and to lower structural course, and one that could be efficiently and quickly installed without extensive time consuming exterior scaffolding. The offset massing creates large flat cantilevered soffits, some of which are at very high elevations. The non-uniform facade imparts an identity between groups of floors, breaks down the overall scale of the building, and will help the building meet the stringent requirements of the energy codes and LEED Gold certification goals. Large expanses of floor to ceiling glass between Thinshell Precast panels allow for panoramic views and create an abundance of natural light throughout the building.

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The tiered, stacked volumes of the building will generate a series of outdoor terraces on several levels of building. The 200 foot tall structure consists of offset rectangular masses. The office tower, conceived as a vertical campus, is characterized by a non-uniform exterior.

Icon cast architects