Mechelen is a rapidly growing historical city with 82,000 inhabitants halfway between Brussels and Antwerp.

At the end of the 17th century, the Predikheren (Order of Preachers) from the Northern Netherlands built an imposing monastery on the outskirts of the city centre, comprising four wings and a small chapel around a cloister. Half a century later the latter part was replaced by the present church building. The Predikheren monastery was built entirely in the spirit of the baroque triumphalism of the Counter-Reformation. After the French Revolution the building was used as a hospital and then as a barracks. The total area of the church and monastery is 5400 sq. m.

After years of neglect while it stood empty, Mechelen city council wants to restore this monastery complex, all of which is protected as a monument, and reuse it as a municipal public library. The city council is looking for an interdisciplinary design team that has sufficient affinity with baroque architecture and also current restoration techniques and contemporary architecture and interiors. This design team must comply with the stipulations of the Flemish Government resolution of 14th December 2001 (including later amendments) regarding grants for restoration work on protected monuments.

These buildings come under the 'Tinel site' urban development project, in which a variety of urban amenities such as housing, a museum, a park, an underground car park and a youth centre are to be embedded in the broader urban fabric.

The library in the Predikheren monastery will be 'a place to become part of the story'.

Its prime concern is literature and reading. This is evident from the extensive collection of books that can be consulted, in encounters with authors, talks, writing workshops, reading clubs, readings, etc.
At the same time, the library is a meeting place, a pleasant place to spend time. Here, in the 'biggest living room in the city', you can quickly look something up on the computer, read magazines, enjoy a drink, browse the range available and so on.

The building is big enough to group functions so that more lively and noisy activities can be kept separate from quieter and more intensive ones. The library will of course continue to play its traditional role, so you can borrow fiction and non-fiction books, DVDs, CDs and magazines, work on the computer, etc.

The protected status of both the interior and exterior of this complex imposes strict conditions on its restoration and reuse. At the same time, the city council wants this to be an eye-catching project that finds a balance between the respectful treatment of the historically valuable heritage and a striking, attractive and functional way of using it.
New developments such as rapidly advancing digitisation will have a radical effect on the work of libraries, so the organisation of the Predikheren complex should be sufficiently flexible to cater to these changes.

The design team must be open to intensive communication between all the parties involved.

Fee: Minimum 9% and maximum 13% (including all supplements for restoration, stability, technical installations, acoustics, etc.)

Note: applicants should add to their portfolio the information requested in the Flemish Government resolution of 14th December 2001 regarding the grant system for restoration work on protected monuments, amended by the Flemish Government resolutions of 20th September 2002, 23rd June 2006, 30th April 2009, 4th December 2009 and 10th September 2010. You can find more information here.