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LIBRARY ZEEWOLDE

K.J. VAN VELSEN, 1985-1989, Kerkstraat 2, Zeewolde

ARCHITECT(URAL OFFICE):
Koen van Velsen

BUILDING TYPE:
Libraries

From the outside it seems a simple square building of perforated concrete panels, with a transparent steel-framed prefatory volume above the entrance prompted by the arcade prescribed in the brief. Inside, a collage of elementary forms, untreated materials (wood, concrete, corrugated sheet, multi-ply) and measurement and constructional systems combine in a composition complex in both plan and section. For example, the reading room is a cabin sunk into the upper floor with a curving roof of its own, and ramps effect vertical circulation. So despite its modest volume the building admits to a complex internal spatiality that scarcely acknowledges a division into storeys. Full-height concrete panels with small window openings punched in them float clear of the floor on a linear cushion of fenestration. The upper storey floor is borne aloft by groups of three columns gently radiating upwards in a move to deny a sense of regularity even here.