In 1958, and with 12,000 volumes, the Hansabücherei opened as an American-style lending library. During Interbau, it was used as an exhibition hall. Linked via a covered walkway to the southern entrance of Hansaplatz subway station, it resulted in an ensemble of flat buildings that corresponded to the shopping center opposite. An open-access library requires space for freely-arranged shelving, seating for readers, and light. In the square floor plan, four wings surround a courtyard with a water basin on the southeast side. A design highlight here is the reading garden around which the reading rooms and front desk are arranged. Room-high glass doors open to the courtyard threshold-free, al lowing the line separating inside and outside to blur, reinforced by the slate flooring. With the delicate bronze sculpture Vegetative by Bernhard Heiliger and the basin, the reading garden is a place of leisure, free of street noise, and at the same time the library’s center.
Building
- Single-storey ensemble consisting of a subway entrance
- Roofed corridor, and library building on a square floor plan, each side ca. 33 m long
- Four wings of the building are grouped around an atrium-like courtyard
- Reading rooms for adults, young people, and children, a magazine and media area
- Rooms fully-glazed on the courtyard side
Construction
- Concrete frame with a low, slightly-recessed brick infill
- The ensemble is placed on a low, recessed pedestal, giving the structure alight feel
- The atrium garden is landscaped with a water basin
