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NEWS ARTS & CULTURE
Nissen Richards gains planning for extension to Wiener Holocaust Library
A proposal by Nissen Richards Studio to refurbish and extend The Wiener Holocaust Library in London’s Bloomsbury Conservation Area has been granted planning permission by The London Borough of Camden. The scheme will see the refurbishment of part of the existing library and the creation of a new-build 145 m2
two-storey extension, containing a new gallery and learning space. The new architectural vision for the site will also see the creation of a ground-fl oor courtyard and a fi rst-fl oor roof garden. The practice has also been commissioned to create the “interpretation and exhibition design” for the new gallery space, along with further elements throughout the existing building and new courtyard and garden spaces. The new building will comprise a ground
fl oor learning space, with access to a new courtyard area bridging the existing building, plus a fi rst fl oor gallery looking out onto a new roof garden. The 30-seater, ground fl oor learning space will be for GCSE level pupils and above, as well as providing additional, fl exible space for the library. The fi rst fl oor gallery will feature displays that highlight key documents and objects in the library’s collections, as well as telling the story of the library from the 1920s in Germany until today. The new-build extension will be topped by a series of sculpted roofl ights to allow north-facing daylight in, whilst external cladding will feature an etched metal, abstracted pattern, taken from the concept of books, documents and shelving and inspired by the library’s identity as a place of research and ongoing learning. The architects commented: “The proposed gallery spaces, material treatment and architectural features will relate directly to the work of the library, honouring those who gathered evidence in the most diffi cult circumstances, in order to document and record antisemitism and fascism.” New proposed works to improve the existing, four-storey Georgian terraced building are particularly focused on the entrance foyer, boardroom, reading
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room and basement, and are critical for preserving archive material. A new air- handling system will also be installed. Soft-toned timber and pale brick will represent the extension’s secondary design language for the interior spaces, along with “limited colour interventions” in tones of blue. These spaces have been designed to “offer warmth, character and light and to embody a feeling of optimism, in spite of the dark and challenging nature of much of the institution’s subject matter.” The new gallery exhibition will seek to explain the role of the library through history: why it was set up, what acts it has performed (and continues to perform) and why it has been historically important. It will communicate the philosophy of the library and “connect to the its core values and purpose, namely to support historical and family research, learning and engagement, teaching about the Holocaust and the Nazi era.” It will “challenge Holocaust denial and present the evidence of historic persecution and genocide, allowing the public to access critical historical resources and to deepen their understanding of this crucial historical period.” As a “living, breathing archive,” its role “will never be complete as it continues
Image courtesy of Nissen Richards Studio
to collect and share the evidence of Nazi crimes and stand against persecution.” The Wiener Holocaust Library is one of the world’s leading and most extensive archives on the Holocaust, the Nazi era and related themes – and is thought to be the largest of its kind in Britain. Its origins lie in the work of Dr Alfred Wiener, who campaigned against Nazism during the 1920s and 30s and gathered evidence about antisemitism and the persecution of Jews in Germany. Dr Wiener and his family fl ed Germany in 1933 and settled in Amsterdam in 1934.
Later in 1934, Dr Wiener set up the Jewish Central Information Offi ce (JCIO) at the request of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Anglo-Jewish Association. This archive collected information about the Nazis, which formed the basis of campaigns to undermine their activities. Wiener brought the collection to the UK in summer 1939, and is believed to have opened the day the Nazis invaded Poland. The Library, a charity, moved to its current Grade II-listed building in 2011. The site’s principal leaseholder is the University of London (comprised of UCL, Birkbeck, SOAS and The Bartlett).
ADF APRIL/MAY 2026
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