Spacious Landscape For Reading and Study With 1,000 New Workstations
5 August 2015
Milestone reached in structural extension of Heidelberg University Library
Photo: Rothe
After seven years of construction, a milestone in the expansion of Heidelberg University Library has been reached. The Triplex building now boasts 1,000 new workstations for library users spread out over the approx. 6,500 square-metre space. An opening ceremony was held at the end of July to officially inaugurate the generous reading and study expanse. Baden-Württemberg Minister of Science Theresia Bauer was also in attendance.
The reconstruction and expansion of the university library are part of a multi-stage construction project designed to create a centrally located, high-calibre study space in the Old Town of Heidelberg. Two phases of the construction are already complete. The first, which ran from 2009 to 2012, created new reading areas in the east wing of the Triplex building that adjoins the historic old library building. The library administrative offices are also housed there. A new loan services area was opened after extensive renovation of the stack floors in the old building. The second phase of construction, dedicated to the redesign of the central Triplex areas and the west wing, began in 2013 and was completed this summer. The state of Baden-Württemberg contributed approx. 20 million euros for the expansion. The Mannheim and Heidelberg Office for Assets and Construction Management in Baden-Württemberg was responsible for project development and management.
An expansive, light-filled space for learning and study now occupies the former institute areas on the top three floors of the Triplex building. In addition to quiet and multi-media workstations, there are 18 individual carrels, 17 group study rooms and two training rooms available. A parent-child room was also set up. New shelf space for approx. 90,000 books and 110,000 periodicals was added for the library’s reference holdings. The closed stack sections in the old building were substantially expanded and the open stacks expanded to include the last thirty publication years, totalling 600,000 books. For the first time, a new central staircase connects each storey of the old university library, built in 1905, to the 1970s-vintage Triplex building.
