Discover a wonderland

During extensive Design Workshops, the aatvos team, along with the library team, focused on how to make a library visit a truly special and memorable experience. “When conceptualising the new design of the Children’s Library, we carefully considered the potential of also applying its core principles to the rest of the building,” explains Aat Vos, Creative Director at aatvos. “We zoomed in on the Children’s Library with the entire City Library in the back of our minds.”

Like a beehive, the new Children’s Library is to be characterised by constant buzz and movement. It is a docking station for learning and experiencing new things. There is always something going on here, new ideas to discover, new friendships to make. A walk through the Children’s Library is designed like a discovery journey through wonderland. It is inspired by the structure of a classical drama.

A fairytale forest

In the basement all bookshelves are placed along the walls. Although they convey familiar impressions in the form of books, magazines, and other media, they also provide the first clues as to where the journey may lead.

With wooden legs and extensions at the top in creative shapes and colours, the bookshelves look like a mysterious fairytale forest. Another special feature is that they are set at some distance from the wall, providing children places to hide. Green felt behind the bookcases not only has an acoustic effect, but is also pleasantly soft to sit against. The deeper you venture inside the new Children’s Library, the more there is to discover: colourful cocoons in various shapes to cuddle up in, birds’ nests made out of wicker, and an event space with an amphitheatre.

Photos by Marco Heyda