Colophon
This guided tour introduces you to the renovated spaces in Henry van de Velde's Boekentoren.
In July 2006, the Flemish Government Architect issued an open call, with which the restoration of the Boekentoren became the subject of an international architectural competition. Ghent University chose the design by Robbrecht and Daem architects from the fifty participating offices. Their master plan was approved by the Board of Directors on 11 June 2009. The Architect’s appeal was the result of a successful campaign to save the neglected monument that the Boekentoren had become.
Head librarian Sylvia Van Peteghem, Antwerp property developer André Singer and the Monuments Controversy (2007) TV programme had made the restoration of the Boekentoren – Van de Velde’s masterpiece – highly topical.
After a long restoration project, carried out by Robbrecht and Daem architects in collaboration with BARO, SumProject and Barbara Van der Wee architects, the Boekentoren will be reopened in its original splendour in the summer of 2021.
Photography
Michiel Hendryckx
Geert Roels
Text
Ruben Mantels
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