Book Tower, Ghent

The Book Tower (Boekentoren) is an iconic building in Ghent, designed by the renowned Belgian architect Henry van de Velde. It is part of the Ghent University Library and is adjacent to the Blandijn, home to the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy. The tower houses over 3 million books and is a significant landmark, contributing to Ghent’s historic skyline alongside its medieval predecessors: the Saint Nicolas Church, the Belfry, and the Saint Bavo Cathedral.

Commissioned in 1933, the Book Tower was designed to accommodate the Ghent University Library and various academic institutes, including Art History, Veterinary Studies, and Pharmaceutical Sciences. It was constructed on the former site of De Vreese Alley on Blandijnberg, the highest point in the city, which allowed Van de Velde to envision Ghent's "fourth tower"—a modernist addition to the cityscape that symbolized knowledge and academic prowess. Standing 64 meters (210 feet) tall, the tower is known as the "Tower of Wisdom," adding to the city’s ambition of a "Parade of Towers," a dream kindled since hosting the World's Fair in 1913.

The structure was innovative for its time, using concrete and the sliding shuttering technique. Shaped like a Greek cross, the tower symbolizes the convergence of time and space, merging the earthly and celestial. It has twenty floors above ground and four below, with space for about 46 kilometers of printed material. The design combines vertical lines of the tower and bookshelves with horizontal elements like open books on tables and the layout of reading rooms, including a bright main reading room and a daylight-shielded manuscript room on the north side.