Kunstenbibliotheek

Avapartners restored and renovated the art library at the Bijloke site in Ghent. The building at the front divides the landscape of the site, behind which the main entrance and museum garden are located. A walk through the long, enclosed corridor of the front building will take you to the entrance to the library. All levels of the library provide interesting views of the outside. Inside the former house of the abbess is like a glass cover, separating you from what is going on outside. Looking through the glass, you can see extras walking around, watching, talking, approaching and entering - without hearing any sound. People meet people and get to know buildings. A social landscape unfolds at the Bijloke site. The architecture does not impose itself; it accompanies without being dominant. It displays structures and continues to guarantee transparency by alternating open and enclosed spaces. The interior is connected to the exterior, or at least to the various spaces in between. The different buildings highlight gradations of transparency, which creates depth, perspective and a sense of time.

This project was opened on the occasion of the 2019 Day of Architecture. The text is based on a contribution by Selin Geerinckx.