Bratislava
Reconstruction of the Goethe-Institute
Library

The necessary reorganisation of the Goethe-Institute of Bratislava provided the possibility to alter its character to a new, modern and open institute. The refurbishment of the heritage building aims at conceptually connecting the written and spoken word by the new interpretation and articulation of the interior spaces. The previously isolated reading room, located in the depth of the plot, in the new design is connected to its adjacent spaces and adopts additional uses. All shelves, formerly distributed throughout the reading room, circumscribe an open space located in the middle of the reading room. The room’s centre is freed from heavy furniture and can be occupied by the library visitors using flexible working tables that can be rearranged according to size and activities of different group users. Large skylights provide the reading room with optimal daylighting. Light and multifunctional furniture complement the concept of an open library that hosts various activates. A café marks the entrance to the library and invited the visitors into the sequence of library spaces which draw a new audience in and invites to read and to linger. The patio in front of the reading room is covered with new wooden flooring, expanding the library into the outside in the warm summer days, for further event usage and as library coffee place. Goethe-Institute’s character is altered by this series of small punctual interventions to a modern and open facility.

Photography: Leonhardt Hilzensauer