Incoming
Last arrival of shelving units from 'Book Tower' by Henri Van de Velde (ca. 1936)
Belgian architect Henry Van de Velde designed at the end of the 1930s, in Ghent, a vast university complex in modernist style comprising, among others, a university library holding 3.000.000 books. This listed building, including all levels of the so-called ‘book tower’ standing at its centre, underwent restoration. Rotor DC intervened to dismantle, clean and package part of the original bookshelves from the tower, which needed to be taken out for renovation works. Thanks to this intervention the shelves have reintegrated the building for which they had been custom produced. Important to note: this was possible at a lesser cost than new shelves. The commissioner draws a triple benefit from the operation : an economic, a heritage and an environmental advantage.
The shelves have been produced around 1937 by Moens under licence of SNEAD from Louisville, Kentucky. Angus Snead Macdonald and the company he founded revolutionised library design in the USA and the rest of the world. Their designs were crucial in moving the library system from one of closed, structural stacks, to open stacks that emphasize adjustability and which are still in use today. This shelving system was custom designed for the building and originally mounted on the ceiling and floor (see images in situ).
The shelves are sold in parts and can be assembled according to your needs to create a modular shelving system (see pictures of the original unit combinations). The shelves were originally fixed in the concrete floor and on the ceiling. A custom mounting system (wall, standing, ceiling) and small adaptations will be needed depending on your interior project.
