MVRDV: Book Mountain Spijkenisse: Biography of a Building

MVRDV's Book Mountain is a building with a mission: to encourage a town populated by the least enthusiastic readers in the Netherlands--Spijkenisse, in South Holland--to switch off their televisions and start reading books again. Former Volkskrant newspaper editor Nicoline Baartman's "biography" of Book Mountain, from conception to construction, paints a picture of the town of Spijkenisse and the political and social contexts in which such buildings are realized. Book Mountain Spijkenisse is the story of an architect with a vision, a revolutionary counselor, the widow of a veterinarian, an art-oriented library director and a visionary hero from India who saves the town. The motives of the protagonists and the context are described in an accessible, straightforward style. Baartman's book offers a fascinating portrayal of life and customs in a new polder town. The story is illustrated with photographs by Marcel Veldman and informative graphics by MVRDV.