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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.
180:(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
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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.
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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
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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,
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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
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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
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176:(1863–1957) was commissioned to design a building for the Library and the Institutes of Art History, Veterinarian Studies and Pharmaceutical sciences of the
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of the book tower for their program "Monumentenstrijd". This "Battle between
Monuments" was based on the popular BBC show
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De
Centrale Bibliotheek en het voormalig Hoger Instituut van Kunstgeschiedenis en Oudheidkunde van de Universiteit Gent
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Greta Van
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Furniture designed by Van de Velde for the
Boekentoren shown at a Weimar exhibition (2013).
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Almost 70 years after its completion, a thorough restoration started, including the famous
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and currently houses 3 million books. The
Boekentoren is directly adjacent to the
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in the Google logo to celebrate the 150th birthday of Henry van de Velde.
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Construction of the underground repository under the inner garden (2012).
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The
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of creating a "Parade of Towers". The famous three towers of the
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659:for Advanced Engineering Education and Research
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685:Gentse Bijdragen tot de Interieurgeschiedenis
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106:Learn how and when to remove this message
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264:On the 3rd of April 2013 the Booktower
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44:adding citations to reliable sources
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138:) is a famous building located in
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417:Boekentoren Belvedère in 360°
200:and the modernist Booktower.
757:Tourist attractions in Ghent
752:Henry van de Velde buildings
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637:and major collaborations
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598:Greenbridge science park
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409:, De Singer studie, 2003
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694:Sports and student life
593:Zwijnaarde science park
678:Sponsored publications
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480:51.04472°N 3.72583°E
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190:Saint-Nicolas Church
182:World's Fair in 1913
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247:has nominated the
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146:, designed by the
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732:Towers in Belgium
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456:(video), Vimeo
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96:November 2022
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55:"Boekentoren"
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51:Find sources:
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29:This article
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38:Please help
33:verification
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254:Restoration
235:German Army
208:Restoration
186:Middle Ages
128:Boekentoren
721:Categories
558:Papyrus 60
468:51°02′41″N
450:"part 3",
438:"part 2",
426:"part 1",
136:Book Tower
66:newspapers
626:Hepacivac
471:3°43′33″E
249:belvedère
214:Belvedère
151:architect
279:See also
196:and the
162:Blandijn
621:Unipept
266:figured
259:Belgium
229:During
168:History
148:Belgian
144:Belgium
80:scholar
225:Trivia
194:Belfry
192:, the
188:: the
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616:COinS
140:Ghent
132:Dutch
87:JSTOR
73:books
134:for
126:The
59:news
405:PDF
245:VRT
42:by
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