Train of thought

摘要

'It's considered one of the ugliest cities in The Netherlands,' says Ingrid van der Heijden, partner and architect at Civic Architects. She is talking about Tilburg, the location of her Amsterdam-based practice's LocHal Bibliotheek. The adaptive reuse of a former train depot into a library was clearly a daring development for the city. 'What was there to lose?' she says, recalling the municipality's attitude to the project. The risk of redeveloping the former locomotive hall (hence the name 'LocHal') has really paid off. The building is evidently loved by Tilburgers. During my visit the vast hall is thronged by people of all ages, reading, relaxing in the cafe, on tours, studying, listening to a lecture or just chilling, away from the rainy outdoors. Since opening in January 2019 the building has won nine awards, including the top prize at the World Architecture Festival (WAF), which is run by the AJ's parent company, EMAR Located in the southern province of North Brabant close to the border with Belgium, Tilburg is The Netherlands' sixth-largest city and has a large student population attending its three universities. The LocHal sits within the 75ha Spoorzone area around Tilburg Central Station, which is currently undergoing major transformation. The vast, three-storey building is 18m high, with a volume of approximately 96,000m3. Its generous space is cleverly laid out to function for different purposes and times of the day.