Central University Library

Boundary and Connection

Located at the foot of Marburg's upper town and at the crossroads between the historical old town and the heritage-listed old botanical garden, the architecture of the new Central University Library reflects the site's significant location in terms of urban space and connectivity.

With its elongated and two folded shape, the new Central University Library accentuates the old town's edge and forms a boundary and transition area to the green spaces of the inner-city. A 2-storey building component extends the overall structure to the north and integrates into the existing administration building of the library.

Urban Spatial Connections

The guiding principle for the urban spatial organisation of the new Central University Library, located at the Firmanei Campus, was to link the general public to the university by applying the concept of "Zwischenraum" (inter-space).

The atrium, which separates the building mass, constitutes a hub for the most significant pedestrian flows at the crossroads between Elisabeth-Church, the old botanical garden and the university campus while enabling the users of the building to experience the spatial elements and existing qualities of the surrounding historical urban fabric.

Spatial Concept

The main entrance plaza is located on the north side of the library, framed on one side by the new building structure and on the other side by the heritage protected building of the former dermatology clinic.

The users of the building are guided to the atrium, which provides access to the library and opens up to botanical garden on its southern side. In this way, flowing spatial sequences, with diverse elements including communication, concentration and recreation, are created.

Analogy Terrace

The stepped spatial organization of the public spaces, which corresponds to the city's topography, allows for an open view over Marburg's roof-scape and its surrounding forests.

The reading terraces, which are staggered comparing to one another by the depth and rise by different heights, offer views of the castle and the old botanical garden. They enable the visitors to perceive different levels and create a close relationship to the surroundings by having the voids oriented towards the botanical garden.

Analogy Stairs

Much like the urban fabric of Marburg's old town, the grand main staircase, which forms a "vertical corridor", guides the visitors to the different levels of the building. In this way, enthralling spatial relationships are created between different levels and the user can experience the library landscape from ever-new perspectives.

Analogy Overhang

Traditional half-timbered houses maximise their floor space through overhang, while simultaneously optimizing the street space.

In the library building, overhangs over the atrium extend the effective floor space of the library and reduce unusable space. In this way, the atrium becomes a protected, upward-opening "urban alley".

Atrium

The glazed atrium links the 4-storey western and the 3-storey eastern part of the massive longitudinal building. The free-curved form of the floor plan widens out towards the south into a wide opening that faces the botanical garden while creating views of the Elisabeth Church through a narrow opening in the north.

Because of its staggered heights, the atrium's roof is developed as a biaxial free-formed surface. By creating a translative surface, the form is divided into flat single surfaces (geometrical design LAP).

Atmosphere

The colouring of the facade and interior spaces responds to the building's urban context. The exterior shell of the building takes on the white-/sand tones, typically found in its urban surroundings. The facade in the intermediate area and the floors inside the building take on warm, red-brown tones, in analogy with the sand stone of the historical buildings.