Rotterdam Public Library, The Netherlands, Dutch Building Images, Netherlands Architecture
Rotterdam Public Library in The Netherlands
28 June 2022
Design: Powerhouse Company
Location: Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Rotterdam Public Library, Holland
Powerhouse Company, Atelier Oslo, and Lundhagem win the prestigious commission to revive and extend Rotterdam?s iconic Central Library.

The City of Rotterdam and the Rotterdam Public Library selected Powerhouse Company, Atelier Oslo, Lundhagem, DELVA Landscape Architecture & Urbanism, Buro Happold, and ISIS Bouwadvies to renew the Rotterdam Central Library, a city landmark from the early 1980s designed by Van den Broek & Bakema. The team was chosen out of five leading (inter)national consortia for the high-profile commission to upgrade the library. Construction is expected to begin late 2025 and be completed by the end of 2028, the year marking the building?s 45th anniversary.
The new design ? a casebook example of radical reuse that transforms a 1980s building into a future-proof contemporary library ? is the result of the combined expertise of Powerhouse Company, Atelier Oslo, and Lundhagem. The latter two offices were responsible for the design of Oslo?s Deichman library (2020), winner of the 2021 Public Library of the Year Award.
?In recent years, the understanding of a library has changed radically. This inspired us to transform the existing spaces for collections and storage into an open and welcoming environmen...