Page 97 - AIT0520_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design Andreas Schüring, Münster
Angebot vielfältiger Arbeitsplätze • Option of diverse workstations
Situation zu Semesterbeginn • Setting at beginning of semester
Situation während der Prüfungsphase • Setting during examinations
Bauherr • Client FHöV NRW
Standort • Location Erna-Scheffler-Straße 4, Köln
Nutzfläche • Floor space 700 m 2
Fotos • Photos Andreas Schüring, Münster
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More information on page 128
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
IN COLOGNE
With the motto of order and freedom, the Andreas Schü-
ring Architekten office designed the interior of the new
library of the University of Applied Sciences for Police
and Public Administration in North Rhine-Westphalia. A
clear grid meets flowing textiles. For the about 2,700 stu-
dents, this combination produces optimum learning con-
ditions adaptable to the course of the semester.
P ublic buildings such as universities and libraries are the main
building task of the Munster architects in the team of Andreas
Schüring. By using a clever selection of materials and sophisticated
light planning, the several times awarded office succeeds in creating
dynamic tensions between the interior and the exterior spaces. The
reduction to what is essential is to make their designs become clearly
visible. In the newly designed library of the University of Applied Sci-
ences for Police and Public Administration in North Rhine-Westphalia,
they implemented exactly these principles. The headquarters of the
Cologne location at Erna Scheffler Strasse has the departments gene-
ral administration, pension insurance and police. Adaptability and va-
riety were in the focus of the design which is characterized by a strong
black/white contrast. The boundaries of the library’s different functio-
nal zones fluently merge. In the entrance area, the visitor is welcomed
by an open lounge followed by an administrative reception counter
which was specifically designed by the architects just as were the
strictly gridded built-in shelves. Inspired by the Café Samt und Seide
planned by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his partner Lilly Reich as
the exhibition stand of the German silk industry in 1927, in the univer-
sity library as well one finds curtains attached to steel tubs in straight
lines and curves. Analogous to their model, the exhibition stand, the
textiles were used as a space-structuring element. The open space of
the library is thus also subdivided by the flowing acoustic curtains
alone. These easily adjustable textiles make it possible to adjust the
settings for learning to the needs respective to the course of the seme-
ster. In addition to these flexible workstations, there is also the option
to retreat in small groups or on one’s own into one of the eight semi-
transparent, glass study cubes. The concept of the views inside and
outside and the play of the reflections is thus continued. The grid cei-
ling consisting of anodized aluminium, which cleverly conceals the
necessary building technology, is subordinate to the design theme of
order and freedom.
AIT 5.2020 • 097