Catholic University of Leuven Arenberg Library, Leuven, Belgium. Architect: Rafael Moneo, 2002. Reading stacks with concrete pil

• Contributor: David Borland-VIEW / Alamy Stock Photo
• Image ID: DGP157
• File size: 48 MB (1.8 MB Compressed download)
• Releases: Model - no | Property - no
• Dimensions: 3343 x 5016 px | 28.3 x 42.5 cm | 11.1 x 16.7 inches | 300dpi
• Date taken: 1 August 2013

More information

This image could have imperfections as it’s either historical or reportage.

In 1997, the Catholic University of Leuven launched a competition to centralise its science and engineering libraries on the site of a disused 17th century Celestine convent in Arenberg. Rafael Moneo's winning entry did not envisage recreating the church that had stood next to the convent, but rather to insert new buildings sympathetic in form and mass to the remaining three sides of the convent. The main long low building, clad in brilliant white render, houses the entrance hall and reading rooms, while preserving the vaulted ambulatory around the cloister. A second building, clad in red render to blend with the brickwork of the original convent, houses the main book stacks. Its concrete and wood interior is illuminated by triangular skylights, allowing natural light to flow down to the lower ground level - so giving readers a sense of time and connection to the exterior. The Library opened in 2002.