Recent™ creates a kit-of-parts identity for Amsterdam’s shape-shifting library

Libraries aren’t what they used to be. When Amsterdam’s OBA and Pre-Reserved wanted to rethink what happens inside these civic spaces, they brought in Recent™ to create Studio C – a cultural lab that completely reimagines the library experience. It wasn’t just about adding some trendy furniture to a reading room. It was about designing a space that can morph from quiet study sanctuary to bustling exhibition venue to community workshop, all within the same four walls. Recent™, working alongside Pre-Reserved and OBA, faced a brief that would make most designers’ heads spin: create a multi-functional space that somehow bridges the contemplative world of library culture with the energy of urban youth culture. Oh, and make sure it can completely transform its function without looking like a hot mess in the process. Their solution? Think of it as a sophisticated kit of parts. Everything from the identity to the actual furniture follows the same modular logic, creating what Valentino Angela, Recent™'s Co-founder & Creative Director, describes as a space that acts as both “a premise for cultural exchange and a catalyst for new ideas.” The heart of this system is the custom furniture – like floating tables that sound almost too simple until you see them in action. “For example, the peg walls can hold artworks during an exhibition, fold-out tables for workshops, or screens for talks and film nights,” Angela explains. “Floating tables can divide the room, function as exhibition walls/tables or transform into communal workspaces.”