It's less than 500 meters from the old to the new address: But in the course of moving from the "Citycenter" to a building complex called "Neue Mitte" near the S-Bahn station, the city library in the Frankfurt suburb of Karben is reinventing itself. Some of the media have been replaced, the library has more than doubled its original size and opening hours have almost doubled. And where previously no reader could sit down - for example to skim the blurb or even briefly leaf through a possibly interesting book - the new rooms offer a whole range of opportunities - from simple cushions to the spartan work chair and the comfortable armchair to the mattress for lounging in the fairytale corner. Instead of a lending desk, the aim is to be a cultural meeting point and a place for people to spend time. Everything can, nothing must is the motto of library manager Antonia Berberich. In other words: both the spatial possibilities and the technical infrastructure are important in order to be able to develop a program tailored to old and new reader groups. In addition to their own ideas, the cooperation with other institutions - including the youth culture center, daycare centers and retirement homes - will show what exactly is needed.

The fact that the new rooms open up a multitude of new possibilities is to the credit of Marie-Therese Deutsch. What is called "interior fit-out" in a matter-of-fact, dry way has in fact become a bespoke suit tailored to the needs of the library and its reinvention. Whereby - to stay with the metaphor - this tailor-made suit still has significant reserves of fabric, i.e. infrastructure, to ensure that it will still fit well in ten or twenty years' time. Secondly, it is extremely versatile. Whether reading, leafing through a magazine or listening to music or an audio book, whether teaching, working on a laptop or playing games - all this is possible without further ado. In future, it will also be possible to come to the Karben public library to attend lectures, readings, indoor and outdoor cinemas. Even receptions and dinners are possible.

This variability is due to the furniture made of white-coated wood-based material. Deutsch had the carpenter manufacture bookshelves, "book towers", wardrobes, lockers and magazine dispensers according to her plans. Always 1.85 meters high and with a metal-reinforced, barely visible joint into which the fork of a furniture lift truck can be inserted, allowing a book tower weighing up to a ton to be moved without tipping over, for example. The means is simple, but the effect is spectacular: in normal operation, the white furniture - the wall cladding and benches are also made of the aforementioned wood-based material - structures the multifunctional all-round space, creating different spatial situations, niches, séparées, open scenarios, contracting spaces and expanding them. During events, all the shelves and towers can be pushed together with the pallet trucks to create an open space that can accommodate up to 120 visitors for a reading, for example. A few book towers, however, are fixed - they cover a total of five columns (two more are on the walls). The architect has also integrated 1.85-metre-high, white-painted radiators into these towers.

As a contrast to the rather cool, white splendor - which is of course broken up by the book spines - there are orange cushions on the benches, orange-covered mattresses in the fairytale corner and an orange marbled, hard-wearing linoleum floor. Deliberately used as a warm counterpoint, this orange embodies the playful in an aesthetically strict, yet functionally flexible order. The seat cushions on the benches can be pushed together to form groups, and you can even sleep on the mattresses (fairytale nights with an overnight stay are planned). In the middle of the northern wall there is an oversized monitor and a screen with a projector so that a group can watch a movie together. The same equipment is also available on the terrace. It is therefore conceivable that in future some Karben residents will spend a few balmy summer evenings in their town library at the outdoor cinema. Video and console games will also be on offer at the library in future, and the appropriate virtual reality glasses have already been purchased.

It was a major concern of Deutsch's to make the library future-proof - as far as possible. The technology remains largely invisible, yet USB ports and sockets can be found everywhere. Because there are also inspection flaps everywhere, the easily accessible cable harnesses can be added to or replaced. And of course there is a powerful W-LAN. Even the lighting can be controlled. At the architect's instigation, the Frankfurt branch of lighting manufacturer Artemide drew up a lighting plan for the library. Up to seven different lighting scenarios can be conjured up using the spotlights and spotlights on the ceiling and the naturally orange-colored object lights: whether it's a story time or a large reception, a reading or a lesson, the staff can set the desired lighting mood depending on the occasion using a switch. In normal operation, the light is regulated in such a way that even the books or their spines on the bottom shelf are still sufficiently illuminated to be readable.

It's amazing: on one floor of an unprepossessing building complex in an unprepossessing environment of commercial, park and farmland, architect Marie-Therese Deutsch has created her own cosmos of books and media. Given the surroundings, it is hardly surprising that this cosmos is rather self-centered. The fact that this cosmos offers a pleasant, both sensual and generous spatial experience is more surprising given the structural conditions. The cooperation between the client, user and planner has also proved its worth: Silke Radetzky, project manager of the city of Karben, library manager Berberich and architect Deutsch visited several municipal libraries in Hesse together to get up to date with the latest developments in terms of program diversity and services, equipment and digital requirements. This trip and its findings have done the new Karben public library a lot of good. Even in the last few months at the old location, the librarians in Karben have seen a large influx of readers from surrounding communities and towns. It is certain that the influx into the new, tailor-made, white and orange rooms of the town library will be even more worthwhile.

Enrico Santifaller