The rehabilitation of the Berlin State Library building, where the collections have been housed since 1914, is due to be completed by 2016. With the reading room, the library has acquired a new core. Adopting the proportions of the domed hall that formerly stood on the same spot and which was destroyed in the Second World War, the present cubic structure is 35 ? 30 m on plan and 36 m high. From the foyer, a straight-flight staircase leads directly to the centre of the reading room, which rises up in an 18-metre-high radiant volume.
In the lower part of this space, visitors find themselves within an almost three-storey-high wooden enclosure consisting of bookshelves finished with a warm, lime veneer in different tones. Through narrow openings one comes to an intermediate space where the stairs are concealed that lead to the upper galleries and to workplaces in the ambulatory and along the facade. The tables, also veneered with lime, are supported by a steel construction fixed to the structural floor. All 265 workplaces are finished with a rubber inlay writing surface and equipped with electrical sockets, IT points, laptop safety stirrups and a simple lamp that can pivot through 180°.
In general, nuances of light play a major role. While the tables, shelves and even the steps of the staircases are illuminated by directional lighting, the bright, white cubic form of the library itself is attractive for its luminiscent effect. With its multilayer spatial enclosure. the entire reading room is bathed in a soft light. Both the incoming daylight and the artificial lighting at night are diffused. The outer transparent panes of the windows consist of low iron-oxide safety glass postformed under pressure at a temperature of 635?°C. These are point fixed to the facade structure.
In the lower part of this space, visitors find themselves within an almost three-storey-high wooden enclosure consisting of bookshelves finished with a warm, lime veneer in different tones. Through narrow openings one comes to an intermediate space where the stairs are concealed that lead to the upper galleries and to workplaces in the ambulatory and along the facade. The tables, also veneered with lime, are supported by a steel construction fixed to the structural floor. All 265 workplaces are finished with a rubber inlay writing surface and equipped with electrical sockets, IT points, laptop safety stirrups and a simple lamp that can pivot through 180°.
In general, nuances of light play a major role. While the tables, shelves and even the steps of the staircases are illuminated by directional lighting, the bright, white cubic form of the library itself is attractive for its luminiscent effect. With its multilayer spatial enclosure. the entire reading room is bathed in a soft light. Both the incoming daylight and the artificial lighting at night are diffused. The outer transparent panes of the windows consist of low iron-oxide safety glass postformed under pressure at a temperature of 635?°C. These are point fixed to the facade structure.