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Article from issue 4/2006 »Light and Interiors«

Refurbishment of the University and City Library, Frankfurt am Main

documentation p. 321 - 325
Architect Hochbauamt Frankfurt |

Drafts
1:100 Longitudinal section Elevation
1:20 Cross section through "combi-box"
1:20 Sections Research Counter, Reading corner in foyer
1:500 Plan of ground floor Foyer, Reading room

Like other libraries, Frankfurt University’s library is having to adapt to new technology and the impact this is having on the requirements of research and study. Ferdinand Kramer’s 1960s building has now been modernised and its spacious interior fitted out with box-like compartments, seating units and workplaces. A recurring element is an illuminated, steel-framed room divider that also houses cabling. In the reading hall shelving units double up as study decks, providing areas to work and browse on two levels. Along the window wall two long, indented wooden partitions create compartments for private study. Because of the building’s listed status, none of the new fittings impinge on the existing structure.