Dezeen Magazine

Photo of IGI Library

Atak Architekti creates Liberec library by restoring and extending a former rectory

Czech studio Atak Architekti has added a metal-clad extension to a former rectory building to create a library and multifunctional community spaces for the city of Liberec in the Czech Republic.

Designed for the local municipality in the southeastern district of Vratislavice, the IGI Library was designed to create a new public hub for the area.

Photo of IGI Library
Atak Architekti restored and extended a former rectory

Looking to maintain the character of the existing building, its deep foundations were used to carve out a semi-recessed basement level, housing reading rooms and spaces to be used by local clubs.

Excavating more of the southern half of the site also allowed for the creation of a new public square, flanked by large ramps that provide access around the building and lined with large windows that allow light into the basement spaces.

Photo of the IGI Library extension
The studio transformed the site into a library with community spaces

"The idea of the design is to create a new public place that will connect to the existing vibrant centre of Vratislavice, defined by public buildings and the château garden," said the studio.

"A new piazzetta is created, inspired by the rhythm of small squares in the vicinity of the public buildings," it continued.

Interior image of the building
It is located in Liberec, Czech Republic

The ground floor of the main building contains the majority of the library areas with a dedicated children's library above, accessed via a central staircase.

Both a first-floor glazed link bridge and a skylit basement corridor connect to the new four-storey extension, which has been constructed from exposed concrete.

The extension houses further library spaces as well as a basement auditorium and ground floor reception, and is topped by an open reading room with stepped timber seating underneath a curved concrete ceiling.

"In the reading room, the contact with trees through the panoramic window is so close that readers feel like they are sitting inside the tree crowns," said the practice.

Interior photo of the building
The interior was lined in concrete and pale timber

While the original timber structure was in too poor a condition to retain, the masonry work was preserved and largely unaltered, with the brick and stonework finished in white plaster in some areas of the interior and left exposed in others.

Against this more rustic backdrop, the library's shelving and seating has been made out of pale timber, with both the base of shelves and deep window sills doubling as seating areas for visitors.

Interior photo of the Czech library
Panoramic windows offer views of the forested surroundings

"The exposed concrete and the brick and stone masonry of the interior are softly lined with wooden seats and booksheves, [creating] all sort of hiding places and nooks where the visitor can constantly discover something new," said the practice.

While the exterior of the existing building has been restored and re-plastered, the concrete extension has been finished with folded metal panels, clearly standing out as a contemporary addition.

Interior photo of the library
The library is located on the ground floor of the building

Other library projects recently featured on Dezeen include the updating of a 1970s Brutalist library in Oregon by Hacker Architects, and the completion of the 15-year transformation of the National Library of France by Bruno Gaudin Architectes.

Photography is by Tomáš Souček.

More images and plans

Basement plan of IGI Library
Basement plan
Ground floor plan of IGI Library
Ground floor plan
First floor plan of IGI Library
First floor plan
Second floor plan of IGI Library
Second floor plan
Section of IGI Library
Section
Section of IGI Library
Section
Section of IGI Library
Section
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti
IGI Library by Atak Architekti