After standing empty for forty years, the 17th-century Predikherenklooster in Mechelen is being given a new lease of life as a city library and cultural hub. Through a sensitive restoration, Korteknie Stuhlmacher Architects, in collaboration with Callebaut Architects, are revealing the various layers of this Baroque building’s rich history.

A library is one of the oldest examples of the sharing and lending economy. Nowadays, it is not just a place to share knowledge, books, films or music, but also a workspace and a meeting place in the city. In Mechelen’s new city library, on top of all this, you also get more than 350 years of shared history.