THE BUILDING

The numerous plans for the Book Tower are scattered. Some of them are preserved at the university's archive and library. The plans of work of the UGent Labo Magnel passed into private property and every now and then, parts and pieces show up among construction workers and supervisors. By digitizing the scattered materials, it was possible to assemble a virtual collection, in which case the whereabouts of the original documents will no longer be relevant, as long as they are properly preserved. During the past couple of years, the university library's digital studio digitized all available documents, giving the team of architects a basis for research and at the same time allowing the Book Tower to reconstruct its own history.
 
Of all these materials, Van de Velde's personal archive is, of course, the most important. Unfortunately, this archive happened to live a life of its own. For many years, it was in the possession of the Delatte family,  who entrusted it to the Ghent Design Museum before finally selling it publicly on October 26, 2002 at Henri Godts in Brussels. Buyer was André Singer, who visited the Book Tower shortly after the purchase intending to entrust the documents to the library. But the complete absence of proper preservation conditions made him decide otherwise. And what first seemed like a drama later turned out to be the building's salvation.
 
During the Winter of 2007, André Singer left Project2 and the university library finally got the chance to acquire the original Van de Velde archive. On Singer's request, all documents were restored and entirely digitized, making the Ghent University the proud proprietor of this remarkable archive, that started off the restoration of the building.