Description

Dornbirn’s new library is quite literally built on a green field, but it couldn’t be further from the typical notion of a greenfield site out in the open where few conditions apply. In fact, the beautiful form of the building, designed by Dietrich Untertrifaller and Christian Schmölz, is a direct response to its surroundings. Located in a somewhat ill-defined transitional zone just outside the centre of the small Austrian town (50,000 inhabitants) ten kilometres south of Bregenz, the intention was to create a new centre of attraction in the disparate surroundings.

The starting point for the design was a track that ran diagonally across the meadow. The architects placed the building on this well-trodden path so that it forms its longitudinal axis. The shape of the building was likewise determined by the impressive mature trees on the site: its elliptical outline, actually composed of several parabolic arcs, was carefully designed to allow all the trees to remain standing. Unfortunately, after the library had already been completed, the town of Dornbirn declared the trees along the street unsafe and had them cut down. But despite the imbalance of emptiness on one side of the site, the building itself still reveals the architects’ thoughtful consideration of the given circumstances in all its details.

The two-storey building, with a third storey below ground, is surprisingly and pleasantly bright inside thanks to its ingenious lighting concept. On the outside, the library is glazed all around. Floor-to-ceiling, triple-glazed window segments overlap at their edges like the scales of an animal thus avoiding the need for costly individual fabrications that would have been needed to produce a seamless irregular contour. The glazing, however, is barely noticeable from outside, because the entire building is wrapped in a grille-like enclosure of rows of white ceramic tiles of unequal height 70 cm in front of the glass. Placed like books on a shelf, they stand, partly vertically, partly tilted, on fourteen supporting rails that run around the building. This both shades the interior while producing a delightful play of light when the sun shines. And in the evening, warm light from inside announces the activities within, spilling out as if shining through an intricate lampshade. At a depth of more than 25 metres at the building’s widest point, however, this alone cannot illuminate the heart of the building. Here the path running through the building widens to form a two-storey rectangular atrium that is lit from above, the light falling between deep vertical timber elements beneath the ceiling. These are clad with a concrete-grey felt to improve the acoustics, and also conceal the installations within them. Elsewhere in the building, the technical installations have also been skilfully tucked out of sight. Light oak and exposed concrete round off the pleasantly warm but practical interior.

Opposite the library counter, a glass wall separates the entrance hall from the books and reading area on the ground floor. Two further library areas are on the upper floor. From the magazine rack above, one can look down into the atrium. In the rounded ends of the building, and behind the counter area, are spaces for gatherings and events, and public talks and readings can also take place in the atrium.

The project architect Peter Nussbaumer describes the library as a kind of public living room. Clusters of blue, yellow and grey upholstered armchairs are grouped around small tables, encouraging visitors to settle down with a book or for a chat. The children’s corner, carpeted in light brown, has a recess in the floor that echoes the shape of the building and has been embraced by its users. The basement, which is only partially naturally lit, houses a media library and play zone for the youth of Dornbirn as well as an open communal working area that is not visible from the upper floor. Nothing seems superfluous, nothing is in the way, and yet the building has everything one needs. Vents in the roof of the double-height atrium allow heat build-up to escape and act as smoke vents in the event of a fire. A screen can be lowered from the upper floor balustrade and the projection technology is concealed on the other side of the room.

The careful planning as well as the equally careful execution of the project is the product of a fortuitous intervention. Following the competition in 2015, a maximum cost of 3.5 million euros was specified, but Dietrich Untertrifaller architects argued that the building could not be built for that price. Eventually, the Sparkasse in Dornbirn stepped in and financed the entire building to mark the bank’s 150th anniversary. A budget was agreed, and the architects were able to make full use of it. As built, the library cost around 6.5 million euros (net).

Originally published in Bauwelt 18.2020, pp. 38-42, abridged and edited for Building Types online, translated by Julian Reisenberger

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