Contemporary traditions

Gundelsheim, a village in German Upper Franconia, shares the destiny of many other small settlements in the region.

In the past decades, it has experienced a slow decay due to immigration of the population to the cities, little jobs and the presence of big shopping malls causing the collapse of the local economy.

Only in the last years, the government started to support with funds and policies the revival of villages – at the same time people have rediscovered the advantages of living in the countryside.

The new library and cultural centre in Gundelsheim were founded by such grant, coordinated by an association for local libraries.

The main room of the library is a light-flooded hall with bookshelves, placed under both volumes.

The bookshelves stand on hidden wheels, which allows for stowing them to the storage wherever a large open space is needed.

There is extensive glazing behind the wooden façade on the north side, but the source of daylight in the space are two rows of roof windows, located on the east side, on the very top of both roofs.