Liquid Frontiers

"The Special Library" is an artistic design concept for the new headquarters of the Volksbank company in Vienna’s Kolingasse. And while the library has a noteworthy inventory of books, it is most notable for its unusual location and, more particularly, the way in which the company’s employees contributed to its creation. “The Special Library” contains books chosen by the employees as being exceptionally significant and inspiring. Hence, while each book offers a unique portrait of an individual reader and their interests and competences, the collection as a whole represents the collective intellectual capital possessed by the company.
This transformation of an underground parking garage into a library not only aids orientation below ground but is also seen as an ironic reference to that part of the building which would traditionally have been home to the bank’s safe.
“Die besondere Bibliothek” contains 458 books covering virtually all genres. In the two weeks of its development, 149 employees participated in its creation. The most popular authors are, in descending order: Paulo Coehlo, Hermann Hesse equal with John Irving, Daniel Glattauer and Carlos Ruiz Zafón.