Safe storage for millions of books
What to do with all the books? This was a question faced by a group of Swiss academic libraries that came together to build the cooperative storage library in Büron – a highly automated warehouse for over 3 million books. Books are particularly demanding items to store.
Client
gzp architekten
A heavy burden
The interior of the impressive structure, which is situated on the outskirts of Büron, incorporates a small administration area and a large high-bay warehouse. This makes the books ordered by library users available in a fully automated approach. Initially equipped for 3.1 million books, the building can be extended on a modular basis to hold up to 14 million. Due to the weight of the books, the foundations are designed to withstand loads of over 4 tonnes per square metre.
An airtight shell
The warehouse is air-conditioned to enable the books to be stored in optimal conditions. The oxygen content of the ambient air is reduced to 13.3 percent in order to cut the risk of fire. This makes it all the more important that the building envelope is completely airtight. Particular attention was paid, therefore, to ensuring that all joints are extremely accurate.
Developer
Speicherbibliothek AG
Our services
Project planning of structure, foundations, forecourts and access roads.
