The Abbey in Middelburg has been the centre of power and politics in Zeeland since 1574. The building ‘de Librije’ is part of the Abbey and has had many functions over the centuries. Originally, the name Librije stands for monastery library – libraria in Latin. From 1579, Zeeland’s own coinage was minted in the Librije
Renovating, making sustainable, restoring and redesigning the Librije
Project:
2018
Year:
Middelburg
Place:
Province of Zeeland
INNOVATIVE WORK IN A MONASTERY
After the fire in 1940 due to shelling by the Germans (or the Allies), the Abbey was largely destroyed by fire. Reconstruction had already begun during the war and in 1960 the Abbey was opened by the then Queen Juliana. The ‘Roosevelt Institute for American Studies’ was also housed in the Librije for a while.
Not much of the original historical interior remains due to the many functions. In the 1970s, the Librije was given a layout with office spaces, which gave the building a completely different layout than the original structure. M+R designed a new layout for the historical building: A modern working environment, a flexible and open structure. The building was completely stripped, partially renovated and restored with biobased sustainable materials.
The interventions have created beautiful large spaces where daylight enters beautifully. The ‘new’ Librije is now an innovative working environment in a historical environment, which offers space for collaboration, meeting and development of and for the employees of the Province of Zeeland.
Description:
