Located in the heart of Berlin and designed by the renowned Swiss architect Max Dudler, the building was opened in October 2009 after a four year construction period and Max Dudler has since won many awards for the building, including the Architectural Award Berlin 2009, the DAM (German Architectural Museum) Book Award 2010 as well as the BDA (Federation of German Architects) Award Berlin.
Covering almost 22,000m², the new building is the largest free accessible library in Germany. Following a brief to create a classical library atmosphere, characterised by quietness, concentration and clarity, Dudler chose a warm palette of just a few tones - dark brown, red and green - and American hardwood species provided the perfect portfolio to choose from.  The paneling and furniture is dominated by warm American black cherry, and the stunning flooring is robust American black walnut.  Burgundy armchairs and forest green table tops complete the palette.

The heart of the library is the 70m long by 12m wide.  This reading hall seats 252 students and the high ceiling reaching 20m gives a sense of space as well as full natural daylight.   Long beams create perfect symmetry with more than 90 roof lights, each 2.55 x 2.55 meters wide, and terrace style partitions separate the reading hall from the rest of the ground floor as well as from floors above.  Dudler’s careful planning is geared towards the busy urban feel of a modern library.  The floor plan is easy to orientate and split into zones for various activities: 2.5 million volumes, 1,250 public work places, one auditorium, ten working rooms for groups, 55 single cubicles, 500 personal computers, rooms for video conferences, media archives and a cafeteria are all spread over the ten floors. In addition the ‘Jacob-and-Wilhelm-Grimm-Center’ includes the University Data Centre, the administration office for the library and training classrooms and assembly rooms, neatly organised by Dudler through the building.

Says Max Dudler, “Despite the enormous depth of the building and the tight furniture settings, the Jacob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrum shows a surprising permeability and openness. The reason for this is a consistently used modular system for both the architecture and the furnishing. From almost every viewpoint the visitors have the possibility to look out of the building respectively through the building.

“The central reading hall can be regarded as the imaginary center of all viewing directions.  Therefore we developed an architectural concept focusing on the central hall: An area for books and their readers. A hall with atmosphere and vibrancy, in line with the authority of the old reading rooms”.

State of the art energy concept
Whilst retaining the highest level of comfort for students and visitors, the ‘Jacob-and-Wilhelm-Grimm-Center’ has exceeded its target levels for energy efficiency.  The intelligent technical equipment installed prevents the need for air conditioning.  The heating concept is designed to be environment friendly. The compact architecture, a balanced relation between the window areas (exposure to daylight vs. heat loss), combined with a structural/physical design of the exterior envelop provides a low heat demand.
In addition, there is little electricity consumption for lighting because of the use of luminous sources with a longer life span and better light efficiency.  The daylight pours through the ample skylights into the central reading hall and reduces the energy demand for artificial lighting.

Interior design with American hardwoods
The warm tones of American hardwoods create a calming atmosphere in this erudite building.  The American cherry paneling, ceilings and furniture harmonise with the dark green linoleum table tops and dark red armchairs. A darker shade is brought by the American black walnut flooring, which blends into the carefully selected palette of colours and materials.  The smaller reading rooms and the auditorium are all equipped in the same manner, keeping the whole building consistent.
Max Dudler is delighted with the finish.  He says “For its design we have looked for a material which is communicating this atmosphere in a believable manner. A material that can boost the tenseness between the conceptional arrangement, the geometrical idea and its sensual implementation. We found a natural material; we found wood. We applied American black cherry sidings with a rich, almost ornamental structure. With their oiled finish they provide a haptic quality and a natural vibrancy, which is ideal for us”.
For more information on American hardwoods, visit www.americanhardwood.org - a new online resource providing instant information on American hardwood species and their technical properties, including black cherry and black walnut, as well as in-depth case studies, images library, videos and news.

American black cherry (Prunus serotina)
American black cherry, also named American cherry, is a premium wood with a creamy white sapwood and rich reddish brown heartwood which will darken as it ages and with exposure to light. The wood has a fine uniform straight grain and smooth texture and is popular for its subtle grain patterns and warm colours.
American cherry is used for many high end applications including architectural joinery, furniture, cabinets, flooring and musical instruments. The wood is of medium density with good bending properties and medium strength and shock resistance.
Gum pockets and pin knots, as well as occurring sapwood, are not considered defects and are in line with the NHLA grading rules. American black cherry may naturally contain brown pith flecks and small gum pockets, providing a unique appearance to this species.

American black walnut (Juglans nigra)
American walnut is a very fashionable timber species favoured for use in contrast with lighter colored timber species. American black walnut has a creamy white sapwood, while the heartwood is light brown to dark chocolate brown, occasionally with a purplish cast and darker streaks. The dark heartwood will lighten in colour as it ages overtime with exposure to UV light. It is used for furniture, architectural interiors for doors, flooring and paneling and high-class joinery. The wood is generally straight grained, but sometimes with wavy or curly grain that produces an attractive, decorative figure. American black walnut stains very well and can be polished to an exceptional finish. Walnut is a tough, hard timber of medium density, with moderate bending and crushing strengths and low stiffness. It has a good steam bending classification.

Photography credit: AHEC / Stefan Müller

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