The Royal Library of Belgium is the national library of the federal state of Belgium.

The Royal Library manages an important cultural heritage and acquires and manages all publications published on the territory of Belgium. The ultimate goal of this project is to make the library better known to the general public. To this end, the circulation will be made clearer and two exhibition circuits will be set up: a permanent exhibition "The Librije" in the Chapel of Nassau, a temporary exhibition such as "the world of Bruegel in Black and White" in the magnificent Palace of Lorraine.

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The delivered works are mainly located in 4 plots: Electricity, HVAC, Plumbing and Elevators. For the electricity plot, all electrical high voltage installations were renewed (signs, sockets, lighting). The lighting was changed to museum lighting. In addition, a new data network was also rolled out. Finally, additional security installations (intrusion, fire, access control, camera surveillance) were provided, connected to an already existing installation. The HVAC plot was the most radical. The exhibition areas had to be equipped with an air conditioning system. The major difficulty there was to find space for the air groups without compromising the quality of the rooms. This space was found in a void above the rooms (see plan extract in appendix). Through ingenious interventions, it was possible to accommodate the installations while maintaining the spaciousness of the rooms.

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As always, Ingenium, together with the other project partners, went into intensive consultation with the client in order to listen carefully to the client's needs and requirements. In function of these needs and requirements, the possible solutions for the question were examined. Intensive research into the possibilities of the building was carried out beforehand. After all, one cannot simply implement technical installations in a building with a historical context. This search eventually led to a technical concept that was explained in a preliminary design note with a number of sketches. This note was discussed and, with the necessary adjustments, the final design and finally the project were realized.

Here Ingenium performed all tasks of the engineering assignment: site visit, concept determination, elaboration of preliminary design, design, tender dossier, follow-up of the execution and deliveries. Hereby all calculations were made, all notes and reports, specifications, statements of measurements and estimates.

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photos: Studio Roma, Direction of Buildings

ref. 18060.001