Essen Central Library by MVRDV and includi

Press room

Essen Central Library by MVRDV and includi

The new Essen Central Library in Germany, with an interior designed by MVRDV and includi in collaboration with Meyer Architekten, is going to opened its doors on Saturday, 24th October 2026. With the library relocating to a more central place in the city, the 10,000 m², six-storey interior renovation became an opportunity to redefine the library’s relationship with the public. The new library is conceived as a “third place” for the city using bookshelves as building blocks to define many different types of space that can meet the diverse needs of visitors, alongside an activated interior façade.

Client
Stadt Essen

Date
October 20, 2026

Location
Essen, Germany

Photography
Daria Scagliola, Jannes Linders

Building partners
MVRDV, Meyer Architekten

The library as a “third place”:

Essen Central Library becomes a cultural hub with an interior designed by MVRDV and includi

The relocation of the central library from its previous location next to the train station to the Boeckerhaus, a former department store on Kennedyplatz in the heart of the city, is a key project for the City of Essen. The Boeckerhaus is well known for housing books and media, having been home to the Mayersche book store until 2017. Its transformation will establish a vibrant cultural and educational hub in the city centre.

Reflecting on the history and development of libraries as an institution, the collaborating design firms considered how libraries have transitioned over centuries: from their beginnings as monuments accessed by the very few, they became repositories of information for a broad audience. Now, in the information age, they are experiencing another change, with less emphasis on their role as a definitive archive, and more on their role as spaces of interaction, exchange, and learning. Following a series of workshops with library staff to define the future identity of the library, MVRDV, includi, and Meyer Architekten developed the interior concept for the new central library following sociologist Ray Oldenburg’s theory of the third place: a place alongside the first place (home) and the second place (work or school). An inclusive, welcoming environment that can serve as a social and cultural hub in the everyday life of Esseners of all stripes and ages.

Get access to our press kit via the downloadable below.

The Zentralbibliothek Essen was designed by MVRDV and includi (specialist in third place design), in collaboration with Meyer Architekten (local architecture firm).