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The Boekentoren (Dutch for Book Tower) is a famous building located in Ghent, Belgium, designed by the Belgian architect Henry van de Velde. It is part of the Ghent University Library and currently houses 3 million books. The Boekentoren is directly adjacent to the Blandijn, the buildings of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy.

History

In 1933 the famous Flemish architect Henry van de Velde (1863–1957) was commissioned to design a building for the Library and the Institutes of Art History, Veterinarian Studies and Pharmaceutical sciences of the Ghent University (Universiteit Gent) on the premises of the former De Vreese Alley on the Blandijnberg. Situated on the highest ground in the city, the site offered the architect a unique opportunity to give to Ghent its fourth tower, not for the ringing of bells this time, but for books. With its height of 64 metres (210 ft), the book tower reaches out to the sky above Ghent alongside its (late) mediaeval predecessors to mark the city skyline and to put the university visibly on the map. Together with the 3 towers, the so-called "Tower of Wisdom" helped Ghent realising the dream the town had since it hosted the World's Fair in 1913 of creating a "Parade of Towers". The famous three towers of the Middle Ages: the Saint-Nicolas Church, the Belfry and the Saint Bavo Cathedral and the modernist Booktower.

Constructed in concrete – an innovation in those days – using the then equally innovative technique of sliding shuttering, the tower was given the shape of a Greek cross to symbolize the connection between time and space, and merging heaven and earth. Twenty storeys above and four below ground level accommodate a line-up of some 46 kilometres of printed material, or over 3 million items. Supporting the vertical lines of the tower and the books on the shelves are the horizontal lines of the open books on the long tables of the magnificent reading-room, the rectangular courtyard that bathes in daylight, and the reading-room for manuscripts, safely shielded from daylight at the north side of the edifice. The tower was inaugurated in 1942 and recognized as a monument in 1992.

Restoration

Almost 70 years after its completion, a thorough restoration started, including the famous Belvedère and the gorgeous interiors. The occasion, however, is also used to make the tower more accessible to the general public. On the other hand, the building will be made to meet the demands of modern library management, especially as far as protection and management of the collection (air conditioning, replacement of obsolete by modern and more efficient provisions) are concerned. The tower will, therefore, not only be restored, but also thoroughly updated. A three floor underground repository is built under the inner garden; it will be completed in 2014 so the books can move from the tower to the underground and the concrete skin of the tower can be replaced. The entire operation is the work of a team around the architects Robbrecht and Daem. Restoration started in 2012. The library services with its study landscape and reading room returned to use in summer 2021. The east wing with office spaces was completed in early 2024 and works on the west wing were started in the same year.

The restoration began with the private person Andre Singer who initiated a campaign to make the university aware of the great architectural value of the building, and of the need of restoration. The then rector Andre De Leenheer, took on the difficult job of finding University money and other funding for the full restoration.

Trivia

During World War II the tower was taken over by the German Army because of its views of the surrounding area.

The Booktower houses about 46 kilometers of books and other material.

In 2007 the Flemish Television Centre VRT has nominated the belvedère of the book tower for their program "Monumentenstrijd". This "Battle between Monuments" was based on the popular BBC show Restoration, which had many viewers in Belgium (a belvedère – an observation post on the roof with an immense panorama – functions as a popular feature in large-scale public buildings.)

On the 3rd of April 2013 the Booktower figured in the Google logo to celebrate the 150th birthday of Henry van de Velde.

On November 12, 2018, a bronze dog was placed on top of the Book Tower. The animal looks east, towards the rising sun. The full-size, upright sitting dog is clearly visible from St. Peter's Square. It is an idea by Michiel Hendryckx that should stimulate both curiosity and amazement. The animalier Greta Van Puyenbroeck created the unique image for which a smooth-haired fox terrier served as a model.

Photo gallery

Belvedère (2013).
Large reading room seen from mezzanine (2012).
Catalogue and central corridor (2012).
Furniture designed by Van de Velde for the Boekentoren shown at a Weimar exhibition (2013).
Construction of the underground repository under the inner garden (2012).