The LocHal Public Library offers a large space for people to meet, socialise, and bask in the glory of their favourite literature. By Shrimayee Thakur
The LocHal Public Library, located in Tilburg in the Netherlands, has managed to bag the award of ‘World Building of the Year’ for 2019. Designed by architects Braaksma and Roos Architectenbureau along with Inside Outside, the library was given the title of ‘World Building of the Year’ in the World Architecture Festival, a three-day event in Amsterdam. A panel of 150 architects, designers and academics, gathered at the festival and appreciated the structure’s versatility.
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The library shares its facilities with co-working spaces and art organisations. The panel was impressed both by the library’s use of its original hangar structure, and the fact that there have been no new structures built. The LocHal Public Library was originally a locomotive hangar, built in 1932. It was later transformed into a public space, which made it possible for many different facilities to make use of the large space. The library is also used to hold lectures and public events occasionally. The original hangar was supposed to be demolished, but because of its versatility, it has survived and is today used by people to socialise.
Other winners this year include a Japanese colonial house in Taipei City, which won the award for the best interior, and the Yangpu Riverside Public Space in Shanghai, which won the award for ‘Landscape of the Year’.
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Full List of 2019 ‘World Building of the Year’ winners:
1.Cedrus Residential designed by Nextoffice
2. Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal 2 designed by Integrated Design Associates
3. Vanke Liuxiandong Design Community – A4+B2 Plot Design designed by FCHA
4. The Vessel designed by Heatherwick Studios
5. Castle Cove House designed by Terroir
6. The Bower designed by AHMM
7. Gaobu Book House designed by Condition Lab, School of Architecture CUHK & UAL Studio, School of Architecture and Urban Planning GZU
8. Turo de la Peira’s sports center and layout of the interior urban block designed by Anna Noguera, Javier Fernandez
9. YM Nursery designed by HIBINOSEKKEI + Youji no Shiro + KIDS DESIGN LABO
10. The Macallan Distillery and Visitor Experience designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
11. Bayalpata Regional Hospital designed by Sharon Davis Design
12. Kokugakuin University Learning Center designed by NIKKEN SEKKEI
13. Lindis Lodge designed by Architecture Workshop
14. Oasis Terraces designed by Serie + Multiply Architects
15. Qasr Al Hosn: Al Musallah designed by CEBRA
16. Coal Drops Yard designed by Heatherwick Studio
17. Villa B designed by Powerhouse Company
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