Gerber Architekten

Gerber Architekten

Gerber Architekten
Tönnishof 9 – 13
D – 44149 Dortmund
Phone +49 (0)231. 90 65 – 0
Fax +49 (0)231. 90 65 – 111
kontakt@gerberarchitekten.de
www.gerberarchitekten.de


Office

„We take our clients‘ individual requirements and develop these further while integrating both the functionality and the particularities of each project.“
PROF. ECKHARD GERBER

The Gerber Architekten practice is active throughout the world, and can look back on 50 years’ experience in urban planning, landscape architecture, architecture and interior design. The 155 staff members’ expertise ranges from office blocks, through buildings for academic and cultural institutions, right up to the construction of housing. Internationally, Gerber Architekten are predominantly active in the Middle East and in China.

As well as the head office in Dortmund, the practice also has branch offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Riyadh and Shanghai. The architectural plans are always geared to conditions at the respective site, its history and topography, and combine visionary, contemporary architecture and the landscape with energy-saving, ecological parameters.


Project

King Fahad National Library, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Vue extérieure de la King Fahad National Library, Riyad

Exterior View of the King Fahad National Library, Riyadh Gerber Architekten, Christian Richters

The King Fahad National Library in Riyadh was the result of the winning entry in an international competition. The building that resulted acknowledges the thousands of years old scholarly tradition in the Arabian region, while at the same time interpreting the styles of construction that are typical in the region as a piece of contemporary architecture. The converted and respectfully preserved existing building, the old library, not only forms the core of the new library in the material sense, but also fulfils this role in its new use a stack room.

The glass facade of the rectangular shaped newbuild is enveloped by a tightly stretched sail construction, manufactured from pale fabric. This not only references the Arab tradition of tents, but also protects the interior from solar radiation. The construction of the library succeeds in linking the requirements of this restructuring of the urban environment with contemporary architecture and the creation of a public space.

LOCATION, COUNTRY: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
YEAR: 2014
BGF: 68,500 m2
GROSS CAPACITY: 452,000 m3
CLIENT: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
TOTAL CONSTRUCTION COSTS: 330,588,00 SR

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