Description

With 30,000 m2 of floor area, the new Public Library in Amsterdam (Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam) was the largest public library in Europe when it opened to the public in 2007.

Hugo was a structural engineer on this project during scheme design, final design, tender and construction stages and gradually got more involved and responsible for delivery of construction documentation and dealing with requests from the client and the contractor. Meetings on site at least once a week throughout the construction stage provided important feedback about the construction process and the constructability of proposed design solutions.
A carefully designed grid, compatible with both the below ground car park and the library building, and the theater box, which is situated on the top floors of the building, prevented the need for transfer structures, allowing for a reduction in structural height. By placing cores outside the building, the use of spectacular sculptural columns and suspending structural elements such as walls and columns, an exciting dynamic design was achieved.