ULB Stadtmitte – Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Darmstadt

Main aims and objectives of the project were installation of the relevant inventory in freehand, more than doubling the user workstations, creating individual and group workspaces, creating training and meeting rooms, information desks on all floors. Improved storage conditions for the old stock.

The new library is located in the center of the inner city campus – between the cafeteria and the old main building of the Technical University of Darmstadt. It is therefore easily accessible for university users.

The architects’ concept is characterized by the “idea of ​​spatial formation, the networking of urban spaces and interiors and the respect for the heterogeneous environment of the location. The appearance in the interior is characterized by robust materials such as exposed masonry and exposed concrete on the one hand and striking oak-clad surfaces and the complex steel skylight construction above the atrium on the other. With a striking staircase, the atrium forms the visual center of the library, which enables the individual floors to be quickly grasped and easily orientated in the building, while at the same time creating a light-flooded interior in the heart of the library. From the outside, the new building captivates with clinker brick facades, which are based on the sandstone colors of the neighboring buildings.

• Offenheit und Transparenz – Zwei neue Bibliotheksgebäude für die Technische Universität Darmstadt eröffnet. von Hans-Georg Nolte-Fischer. in: BuB : Forum Bibliothek und Information. Bad Honnef : Bock + Herchen. 65.2013, Heft 9, S. 614-619