Evelien Takken Interieurarchitectuur created the interior design for the newly build public library in Malden, The Netherlands. This includes all design phases from the early start up to and including the realisation. The main responsibility as interior designer was to translate the design requirements to a design in which the floor space is used efficiently. The project team involved the branch manager, the project manager and Evelien Takken.
Project demands
The public library will be the main library for the villages Malden, Heumen and Overasselt. The future demands are taken into consideration. Special equipment is used to promote self-service. This enables people to loan and return books them selves. Furthermore the library can be used for meetings, courses, presentations etc. The library offers a relatively small selection of quality books meeting the target group demands. The target group is little families, elderly and higher educated people.
The design and concept
"The collection is spread out on the floor and pushed to the sides, to create as much flexible space as possible, for activities and presentations", says Evelien Takken. By using flexible, movable furniture, 80% of the floor space can be cleared.
The main design demands are: Space for various activities and meetings; Space for presentation. A glass wall in combination with the interior design is intended to trigger people to visit the library. Books are presented from aside and guides visitors into the library. The collection is spread out on the floor and pushed to the sides, to create as much flexible space as possible, for activities and presentations. By using flexible, movable furniture, 80% of the floor space can be cleared.
By presenting the collection in a stretched book isle form, visitors get a nice overview of the collection. We used a clear visible sign system and placed them onto the yellow bookcases. At the windows, a lounge area and wireless Internet zone is presented. When one follows a book isle, visitors get to see the book tree, fun furniture for children. This tree consists of holes where children can feel and look into. A stage is based at the background. The stage appearance is stressed applying a high colour contrast with the background.
The vertical lines, seen throughout the library, have a logistic function: they show us the way through the book isles to various functions, such as a service point where you can loan, copy, print, get information and access the reader's cafe. The lines, stressed by different colours and lengths, also segment various zones, like youth and adult. The adults’ section is located at the entrance. The kids’ section is located around the book tree and at the stage. Here is space for parents to read to kids. Furniture is easily movable and is kid friendly. The youth section is located behind the stage.
Some facts:
- 80% of the floor space can be cleared, by using movable furniture.
- The book collection is spread out on the floor and pushed to the sides.
- The vertical lines also have a logistic function.
- A clear visible sign system was used to get a nice overview of the collection.
- The cafe is also spacious and light.
- The reader's cafe has an overview of various magazines.
- The lounge area has access to wireless Internet.
- The book tree: a place for children to discover, feel en see the magic world of books.
Activities
To get to the desired design it was of utmost importance, amongst others, to:
Discuss and agree upon design requirements;
Define the routing and mapping;
Design and select furniture;
Define materials and colours;
Select suppliers and discuss the requirements, taking the minimal budget into consideration;
Attend project meetings.
Project information:
Sponsor: Bibliotheek Gelderland Zuid
Interior architect: Evelien Takken Interieurarchitectuur
Architect: Stok en Stok Architecten
Builder: Bouwbedrijf van Schijndel
Interior builder: van keulen interieurbouw / SteegAA
Dimension: 1000 m2
