CNN may have called the TU Library the place “Where the Teletubbies may come to roam and read,” but they still voted it one of the seven Coolest Libraries to the World.
This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of the iconic cone-shaped building, and the campus is celebrating with an online and offline exhibition.
From 11 January to 7 February, library visitors can view photos, drawings and models at the onsite exhibition. Additional photos will be displayed on the library’s Facebook page. The exhibition charts the history of the building, from the original design up through the latest renovations.
Two displays focus on the construction process. You can see the original designs for the building and photos of the site as it was underway. These are a great way to see how the different architectural elements fit together.
There is another display entirely devoted to the interior design and later redesign. With the rise of the digital age, the library staff realized that a redesign was in order. The reverse side of the interior design cabinet shows how the space was completely remodeled to go from a library entrance into a living room atmosphere.
The highlights of the exhibit are the models. You can compare the original grass roof with its replacement and see what changes were made to make it leak-proof. The scale model of the library draws plenty of attention. Created in 2000 for the exhibition “Post Modernism – Three Moments in Postwar Architecture in the Netherlands” at the Sao Paolo Bienal, the model is on loan from the Architecture Department.
The Library Marketing and Advertising Department curated the exhibit. Renske van der Zwaard-van Oosterom enjoyed being on the team. She explained, “I already knew a lot about the building because I also delivered information for a brochure…during the transformation to the Library Learning Centre. With that, the Library became a place where – besides studying alone or in groups – a wider audience can come to enjoy exhibitions, so the building gets a more multifunctional use.” Despite her previous work, she still learned something new, “I heard for the first time the reason for the bright blue colour of the bookcase.”
The next time you are in the library, step through the exhibit and learn about the building’s past. You can even grab a free postcard while you are there to show your “cool” campus off to friends and family back home.
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