This library extension in the centre of Bruges is covered in sheets of pre-rusted Corten steel, deliberately contrasting the white plasterwork of the unique building .
Antwerp workplace Studio Farris Architects won a competitors organised by the neighborhood council to renovate and increase the Sint-Andries City library, which occupies a listed developing in the centre of the Belgian city.
To make sure the extension stood out against the pale colouring of the previous library – as well as a row of other public buildings including the city’s fire and police stations – the team covered the single-storey structure in sheets of Corten steel, giving it a rich orange colour.
Some of the sheets are patterned with little circular indentations and perforations, whilst other people are smooth. The horizontal and vertical panels are fitted together in an interlocking formation that uniformly covers the exterior of the developing.
“The request of the client consisted of a complex set of needs, along with the want to make the library far more noticeable from the adjacent streets and give it its own identity to make it stand out from the multiplicity of other services situated in the existing constructing,” explained the architects.
“The extension is subordinate to the major creating in terms of dimensions and is visually disconnected from it by its materialisation,” they added. “The place of the extension emphasises the tension in between the present heritage constructing and the new volume.”
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Big windows are aligned with the corners of the extension, while the perforated Corten grills cover little square windows set at varying heights along the walls.
Within, studying corners, computer systems and a reception desk are found near the windows to advantage from organic light, but also to pique the curiosity of passersby who the architects hope will be encouraged to use the new library.
Skylights and strip lights further illuminate the area. “To produce a pleasant ambiance in the library, three different sorts of windows were employed, enabling visitors to enjoy all-natural light all through the day and seasons,” extra the team.
White metal magazine racks and bookcases are arranged around the outer edges of the library and in rows in the centre floor.
Photograph by Lumecore Toon Grobet
A quick corridor bridges the old and new library spaces and also gives an entrance. The dark parquet floor of the new library transitions to a polished grey covering in which the two components of the buildings meet.
Photograph by Lumecore Toon Grobet
Inked on a white wall opposite the tinted glass entrance is a quotation from neighborhood novelist Bart Moeyaert.
Photography is by Tim Van de Velde unless specified otherwise.
Venture credits:
Client: City of Bruges
Architect: Studio Farris Architects
Structural engineering: Planet Engineering
Technical engineering: Studiebureau Boydens
Contractor: Bouw & Renovatie
Corten steel panels: Metal Layout Operates
Furniture: &tradition and Paola Lenti
Lighting: DCW, Viabizzuno, Bega, Trilux, Etap Lighting and Erco
Web site plan 
Floor program 
Area Dezeen
