LocHal Library: Historical context for social benefit

Project name: LocHal Library | Location: Tilburg, the Netherlands | Completed: 2018 | Architects: CIVIC Architects, Braaksma & Roos Architectenbureau | Interior design: Inside Outside, TextileMuseum, Mecanoo Architecten

LocHal Library is situated next to the train station of Tilburg in the Netherlands. The vast space dates back to 1932 when it was used as a locomotive hall. Since 2018, the building has housed the Bibliotheek Midden-Brabant (a public library), Kunstloc Brabant (a regional knowledge centre for culture and art), Brabant C (a regional investment fund for culture and the creative industry) and Seats2Meet (a co-working space).

The striking interior design of the warehouse takes cues from the historical context of Tilburg as a city. Tilburg is most well known for its worksites of the Dutch National Railways as well as its textile industry – two aspects that feature heavily in the design of LocHal. Inside Outside, TextileMuseum and Mecanoo Architecten have made the city’s history tangible through intelligent interior design.

In the main hall, the old railway tracks have been preserved and are still visible in the concrete floor. Three large-wheeled ‘train’ tables can be wheeled along these tracks, forming an extension to the cafe’s bar or they can be placed together to create a stage within or outside the main building. Inside Outside designed several hanging textile walls which can be moved along rollers to create smaller, more intimate spaces within the huge hall.