For his design of the new public library in Heidenheim, Germany, Max Dudler started with a study of its integration within the urban fabric. The site chosen for the project was that of a former prison, which had long stood as a barrier between the historic town centre and its heterogeneous postwar expansion to the west. Consequently, the library was designed as a connection between the two neighbourhoods and the two epochs in the city’s history.



Its elongated shape thus lies next to a wide pathway that widens towards the historic centre. This paved space doubles as library plaza, with umbrellas for the library café and room for outdoor activities. The library itself is a long trapeze, from which rise a series of blocks of different heights. These shapes recall that of the 1961 city hall that borders the library, as well as the postwar housing blocks of the area. The bricks that compose the library, however, are a nod to the traditional materials of the old town and the nearby neogothic Pauluskirche.



The inside of the library is a departure from earlier Dudler projects like the Grimm-Zentrum in Berlin, which is marked by the strict geometric repetition of shapes and voids in an almost monastic deference to quiet study. In Heidenheim, spaces are designed to invite movement and browsing. Past the entrance lobby is a café and newspaper area that spills out to the plaza outside. Going up, a large atrium connects the entrance, non-book and main library levels in a single and intuitive way. Doors on the upper floor open to two elongated terraces with views over the city.





The images shown here date from my visit in August 2022. Many thanks to city librarian Thomas Jentsch for welcoming me to his wonderful library. Vielen Dank!