Link to original Pecha Kucha : GaryNickPechaKucha
Library of Eberswalde University
Location: Eberswalde, Germany
Client: Land Brandenburg
Architect(s): Herzog & de Meuron with Thomas Ruff
Completion: 1997-99
- Eberswalde, Germany was seriously damaged in WWII.
- This historical portrait, Venus and Cupid, was one image as well as others that are used in the design of the Eberswalde Library Facades by famous photographer Thomas Ruff.
- Who Herzog & De Meuron architects worked with frequently
- These images were converted to precast concrete or printed glass
- The images / are alternated vertically / in 17 horizontal strips
- As people walk by / they envisage a frozen image of a movie reel / stationary in history
- Hence / the subjects find their place / in time and space
- The small rectangular windows then create a backdrop for these subjects / revealing the buildings primary function
- The Site Plan is strictly arranged / each building abides by a perpendicular axis
- The design is almost military / bringing another historical connotation
- The library fills the fourth corner of the campus / creating a prism for the campus boundaries
- The interior plans share this uniformity / in placement of the tables / and seperation of spaces / by use of bookcases /
- which abide by a grid formation
- Andrew Benjamin ‘s ‘Writing Art and Architecture’ says the “Library for the Eberswalde Polytechnic – should be understood as locating the object’s architecture as much in a sustained engagement with programmatic concerns”
- Susanne Fritz believes: “Herzog de Meuron set another trend in architecture: the photo-concrete façade of the Fachhochschule Eberswalde’s library”
- and that its is… “one of the first buildings to use photo concrete on such a large scale.”
- In summary, The Eberswalde Library is a unique building / weighed down in meaning.
- It was a creation of innovative technology / and thoughtful design / and maintains its prestige in the world of Architecture.
- It stands exceptional / within the 19th century construction of its neighbours / however as Herzog himself states it’s ‘simple yet elegant’ structures does not disturb them.
References:
Mack, G. c1996-c2000. Herzog & de Meuron: the Complete Works. Translated into English by K. Steiner, B. Almberg. Basel: Birkhauser.
Mack, G. and Liebermann, V. ed., 2000. Eberswalde Library. London: Architecture Association.
Herzog, C. 2005. Herzog_Eberswalde. [pdf] Available at: http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~kcoleman/Precedents/ALL%20PDFs/Herzog_EberswaldeTS.pdf [Accessed 1 February 2012]
Architecture Journal, 2000. Eberswalde Library: Herzog & de Meuron. [online] Available at: http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/eberswalde-library-herzog-and-de-meuron/192556.article [Accessed 31 January 2012].
Herzog & de Meuron, 1996. Eberswalde Technical School Library. [online] Available at: http://www.herzogdemeuron.com/index/projects/complete-works/101-125/105-eberswalde-technical-school-library.html [Accessed on 31 January 2012].
Further Reading:
Herzog & de Meuron: Herzog & de Meuron. Thomas Ruff. BibliothekderFachhochschule Eberswalde. In: António de Campos Rosado (Ed.). Co-Laborações. Co-Laboraciones. Arquitectos – Artistas. Exh. Cat. Co-Laborações: Arquitectos / Artistas. Sala Jorge Vieira, Lisbon, Portugal. 6 December 2000 – 4 March 2001. Lisbon, Parque Expo ’98, S.A., 2000. pp. 41-55.
Raymund Ryan: The Eberswalde Chronicle. In: Nobuyuki Yoshida (Ed.). Architecture and Urbanism. Feature: Images of Glass I. Vol. No. 352, Tokyo, A+U Publishing Co., Ltd., 03.2000. pp. 44-49.
Gerhard Mack, Valeria Liebermann: Eberswalde Library. Herzog & de Meuron. Edited by: Pamela Johnston. London, Architectural Association, 2000. (= Architecture Landscape Urbanism 3).