Campus Opera, a library loaded with heritage value

17.04.2024 | Education

The current Campus Opera Library in Antwerp (Belgium) is located in a building from the 1950s that, 40 years later, was restored. However, now many of the elements that were included in that intervention have been removed to recover the essence of the building. That is the key to this project, led by the architecture studio B-architecten, in which work has been done at all times to recover the monumental character of the installation.

This is the former Provincial Security Institute, now converted into the new study centre for the Faculties of Letters and Economics and Business Administration of the KU Leuven. The concrete structure, the atrium, the glass roof and the granite staircase were some of the elements of greatest heritage value, which have now, thanks to this action, been recovered.

The two facades of the building have been restored, while the slab located on the first level, which was introduced in the 1990 intervention, has been removed to reopen the original atrium that ran from the first to the third floor. In addition, the original staircase between the ground and first floors, demolished in 1990, has been rebuilt.

A perfect place to learn

The building, which has been part of the Real Estate Inventory since 2019, was the ideal setting for a contemporary learning platform, especially due to its original design from the 1950s.

Now it is a completely innovative environment that, among other rooms, houses a library with positions for individual work and group work areas. This is precisely where Sellex becomes part of the project with our seats for educational facilities, since the HANDY Stool, designed by Stephen Philips, was chosen to equip this collaborative study space. Specifically, 60 HANDY Stools with two different colours, Musgo and Camel.

We can’t think of a better choice for a library like Campus Opera, which clearly wants to encourage collaborative study through its furniture. Because one of the most notable characteristics of HANDY is its multi-functionality: it can serve as a seat for working individually, as well as for meeting to discuss something as a team, and it can also be used as a side table.

Likewise, it contains a lower space to store backpacks, bags or other belongings, a very useful feature in study and/or work areas. Finally, it should be noted that HANDY is a stool that can be stacked up to 20 units, which helps optimize the space of any installation. What more could you ask for from a library stool?