The word “library” doesn’t immediately conjure up a sense of coolness but these libraries are much more than just book storage depots. From public archives of knowledge to centers of learning at colleges and universities, libraries can be amazing places - so why shouldn’t they look the part? From alien blob monster buildings to futuristic steel-and-glass mega-structures, here fifteen libraries that prove books can be very cool.
(image via: Treehugger)
The new national library of the Czech Republic is still in its initial design stages but from the look of the plans, it’s anything but bookish. Materials to be used include unpolished white marble, mirror-finished stainless steel and an abundance of new greenery. A three dimensional construct for the third millennium, the library will have a working capacity of 10 million volumes when completed.
(image via: Treehugger)
Set on the edge of the huge Letna Park in Prague, the library is said to be democratic architecture in a democratic state, as Czechs express long-suppressed desires for freedom of thought that are uniquely suited to the concept of a library.
(image via: The Seattle Public Library)
Libraries are often funded by governments, corporations or through university endowment funds that provide architects with plenty of green with which to grow their visionary ideas. Case in point: the Seattle Public Library’s Central Library that dominates the corner of Madison and Fourth Street.
(image via: The Seattle Public Library)
Opened on May 23, 2004, the library was constructed using 18,400 cubic yards of poured concrete, enough glass to cover 5½ football fields and 4,644 tons of steel - enough (by weight) to build 20 copies of the Statue of Liberty.
(image via: Woodschool)
Seattle has a thing for cool libraries, it seems. The Ballard Library is a public project that stresses green design features without compromising convenience and accessibility for book readers.
(image via: Greenroofs.org)
Built in 2005 at a cost of just under $11 million, the Ballard Library features an innovative “green roof” consisting of native grasses and sedums planted 4 to 6 inches deep in a custom growing medium topped with a biodegradable coconut fiber mat.
(image via: Wired)
One variation of the classic library is the personal library, of which Jay Walker has the penultimate version. Walker’s exquisite bibliothèque takes pride of place at his New England home and hosts truly incredible items that include a Saturn V rocket instruction manual, FDR’s plan (scribbled on a napkin) to win World War II and a bevy of invaluable tomes encrusted with precious gems.
(image via: Wired)
Walker’s library holds much more than books, however. The 52-year-old Internet entrepreneur and founder of Walker Digital has accumulated some of the most exceptional objects in history to complement his book collection. Of special significance are a back-up Sputnik-1 satellite, a Nazi Enigma code machine and an original hand of The Addams Family’s “Thing”, signed by the show’s cast.
(image via: Alaska Journal)
The Consortium Library at the University of Alaska Anchorage is designed to take the heat off students sitting next to its windows. Yes, even in Alaska! The washtub shape reflects direct sunlight downward while still admitting ambient light.
(image via: NEWSGD.com)
China also sees the need to expand and update its libraries to meet the demands of a growing, better-educated population. The Baiyun Mountain of Books may have an odd name… but it also has an odd appearance to match.
(image via: NEWSGD.com)
Above are a sampling of some other cool library designs that are still on the drawing board but, as witnessed at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, have a very good chance of being built.
(image via: Free Library of Philadelphia)
This is the bright and optimistic design for Philadelphia’s Parkway Central Library, planned by the architectural firm of Moshe Safdie and Associates, Inc., as an update & renovation to the existing Beaux-Arts library building. When completed, the library will offer visitors 300 public-access computers, a 550-seat public auditorium and an all-new Children’s Library which includes a Preschool Center and Craft Room.
(image via: BSA Architects)
The new Dublin Civic Center Library in Dublin, CA, offers a soothing shelter from everyday worries.
(image via: BSA Architects)
Designed by BSA Architects, the 38,000 square foot main building uses locally sourced materials in its construction and picks up exterior design cues from the nearby city hall.
(image via: Archidose)
Libraries have always had a place at the heart of urban neighborhoods, and building a new library is a perfect way to revitalize a community that’s seen better days. Such is the case in London, England’s Peckham Square area where the Peckham Library is located. The smallish library is distinguished by its tilted “L” design supported by many narrow pillars.
(image via: Archidose)
Inside, three wood-clad elevated tripod structures house the children’s library, an Afro-Caribbean literature center and a general meeting space.
(image via: JFK Library)
There’s another kind of library that can be very cool, regardless of one’s political slant - the presidential library. Above is the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum at Columbia point in Boston.
(image via: Museums of Boston)
Designed by renowned modernist architect I. M. Pei, the library displays soaring lines that characterize the hopes and dreams epitomized by the all too short Kennedy presidency. The complex is situated in a sprawling, 10-acre parklike setting that provides magnificent views of Boston’s harbor and skyline.
(image via: The Chronicle Review)
On the other hand, a satirical Back-of-the-Envelope Design Contest organized by The Chronicle of Higher Education garnered quite a few serious proposals for the George W. Bush presidential library. One of the most interesting was the above sketch depicting a cubical main building seemingly supported by water fountains.
(image via: Rockville Library Gala)
On the more practical (and less presidential) side, this is the new New Rockville, MD Library. Cool highlights include an ethereal starry night ceiling and a floating staircase.
(image via: Commercial Carpets of America)
Custom Lees carpets were used through out the building, the above shot showing off the fine detail that won Commercial Carpets of America (CCA) a 2006 Design Award.
(image via: The Age)
The Mornington Branch Library in Victoria, Australia, was designed by architectural firm Garner Davis to update the basic concept of a library while preserving its primary function as a neighborhood center of knowledge. The building houses approximately 50,000 books, computers and facilities to give visitors a sense of being at home. The library is also environmentally friendly, employing a perforated metal “sunshade” and double-layered walls that keep the summer’s heat out. Cool indeed!
(image via: Far North District Council)
Staying down under, the Procter Library in New Zealand is also known as the Te Kete Matauranga O Kerikeri - “knowledge basket of Kerikeri” in the native Maori language. It’s a fitting name as libraries can be considered to be baskets of collected knowledge.
(image via: Resene)
Local architect Dianna Sandifer won a design competition for the new library and used an ancient Maori folktale as her inspiration. “A visit to the library will always involved a journey whether it is into a fictional world, into the past, present or future, into strange lands, outer space or indeed cyberspace,” says Sandifer. Maybe we can all take a page from her book!
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63 Comments
December 10th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
awh, the TU Delft library is missing! Build in 1997 it featured a green roof as well.
December 10th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
As I am from Czech Republic, the green&purple concept will remain concept. Due to politics here, it will not be realized. What a shame…
December 10th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Check out the Eltham (Victoria, Australia) public library:
http://www.gregoryburgessarchi...../index.htm
December 11th, 2008 at 3:25 am
The new library in Amsterdam is also worth noting…
December 11th, 2008 at 5:15 am
The London School of Economics and Political Science library is also worth a mention
December 11th, 2008 at 5:38 am
the new fu berlin library is also pretty neat.
December 11th, 2008 at 5:53 am
Wow that is so cool. I like it.
jess
http://www.anonymity.cz.tc
December 11th, 2008 at 6:15 am
The one from the Czech republic looks like an alien blob invading the planet. But, hell, if that’s what they were going for, they totally nailed it.
December 11th, 2008 at 6:18 am
Salt Lake City Downtown Library
December 11th, 2008 at 6:30 am
Salt Lake City Downtown Library
Seconded!
http://images.google.com/image.....%20library
December 11th, 2008 at 6:35 am
I also think the Lincoln University (UK) is a pretty cool building:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/u.....8049400154
December 11th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Good stuff, keeping people interested in learning.
December 11th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Most of these have not even been built. Take a look at the Vancouver Public library.
December 11th, 2008 at 7:21 am
Beinecke at Yale is cool….
December 11th, 2008 at 7:28 am
If Jay Walker has the penultimate personal library, who has the ultimate personal library?
December 11th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Um.. you should check out “penultimate” in the dictionary before using it like you did.
December 11th, 2008 at 7:37 am
What about the library in Vancouver? It looks like the Coluseum. Beautiful
AND architecturally interesting
December 11th, 2008 at 7:58 am
No pictures from the Forum building from the Wageningen University??
http://www.archined.nl/oem/reportages/QWA/QWA.html
December 11th, 2008 at 8:01 am
What about the Utrecht University Library?
http://www.mimoa.eu/projects/N.....rary%20UBU
December 11th, 2008 at 8:24 am
You missed the Vancouver library. Green roof and classy design…
http://images.google.ca/images.....amp;tab=wi
December 11th, 2008 at 8:34 am
The big books in the lower left of the first pic is actually a parking garage. The main branch of the Kansas City (Missouri, USA) Public Library is across the street.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Where is the one with the books on the facade as pictured in the top picture?
December 11th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Have some respect: Every entry should have the architect’s name next to it…why do posts so often neglect to cite the designer of projects?
December 11th, 2008 at 10:39 am
You missed Vancouver (BC) public library, it takes a whole city block and is very interesting.
December 11th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Loved the selection. Some other (realistically priced) libraries that I like in NZ - that reflected form and function: New Brighton Library in Christchurch http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/NewBrighton/ and Papamoa Library in Tauranga http://www.library.tauranga.go.....pamoa.aspx
Philip van Zijl
December 11th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Consider the Columbia Public Library in Columbia Missouri, especially at night. Extraordinary.
December 11th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Outstanding! I wish I had a library like these!
December 12th, 2008 at 2:47 am
From all the libraries I visited during some 45 years in more than 80
countries in all continents I liked most the public libraries of Tampere and Rovaniemi in Finland. And of course the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt.
In the Netherlands the new university libraries of Utrecht and Delft and central public libraries in Rotterdam and Amsterdam are most attractive.
December 12th, 2008 at 3:57 am
I second Hans Krol’s mention of the library in Alexandria, it’s a remarkable space:
see photos here
http://www.bibalex.org/English/gallery/index.htm
December 12th, 2008 at 10:09 am
worth noting
Alexandria Library in Egypt, most of it is underground with huge glazed roof.
December 12th, 2008 at 11:25 am
@cm1265
Link to Salt Lake City Public Library photos.
http://www.slcpl.lib.ut.us/det.....;page_id=5
December 12th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
WOW I love the Czech Republic library…yes thats what Im talking about…now I want to go read a book
December 12th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
IMO for most of these, art and design has been sacrificed for pretension and fancy.
December 15th, 2008 at 2:10 am
Wow that is so cool. I like it….
December 15th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
i like the consortioum library
December 16th, 2008 at 8:35 am
You really should add the Des Moines Public Library to this list.
The Weitz Company served as the construction manager on this 150,000 square foot central library located in downtown Des Moines. This new facility features a green roof, underground parking, exposed concrete ceilings and a raised accessible floor system. The entire facade is wrapped in glass with an encased copper mesh. The library is located at the eastern edge of Gateway West and is designed to blend into the park-like setting of the gateway. This project was winner of the American Institute of Architecture’s Central States Region Award and Building Design+Construction’s Building Team Silver Award for green practices.
December 16th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
The library for which I work is featured. It would be nice if we also had money to pay for books & other materials and staff to cover the vast spaces of the building. Just a thought.
December 17th, 2008 at 5:51 am
The London School of Economics and Political Science library is also worth a mention…
December 17th, 2008 at 7:51 am
Wow that is so cool. I like it….
December 20th, 2008 at 10:01 am
What about the library in Vancouver? It looks like the Coluseum. Beautiful
AND architecturally interesting…
December 29th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Check out the Loyola University Chicago Information Commons:
Beautiful design, great location (on Lake Michigan), and a very
green building with lots of innovation.
January 6th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Some were never built. And some are old news. What about some new ones? How ’bout the Central Library on downtown Indianapolis? Awesome!
January 7th, 2009 at 5:46 am
the peckham library is my library, I beautiful design…
January 7th, 2009 at 5:47 am
oops sorry meant to say “A beautiful and inspiring design”
January 8th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Rockville Library may look great but for many library patrons, it’s terrible. Way too noisy, place too big for staff assigned, not enough convenient parking, etc. etc. etc.
Is very attractive though if that matters, including great design for bookshelves
January 13th, 2009 at 2:54 am
My new library is in a fabulous building shared by a pool, gym and bistro as well. Look at “Aqualibrium” - an unexpected gem in Campbeltown, Kintyre (Scotland), designed by Page & Park
January 13th, 2009 at 7:57 am
I work in a run down, cash-strapped library service and we struggle to get new books and replace staff. Too much money is lavished on these “iconic” buildings and they strike me as a triumph of architectural style over library substance. What is the point of a library if it has little or no books, however nice the architecture?
January 14th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Here is a link to more images of the Peter B. Lewis Library — serving the sciences at Princeton University:
http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pi.....s_library/
It’s quite delightful working in our Frank Gehry building, with so many different spaces and angles. The light, the colors are uplifting. It opened in September, 2008, and everyone is very positive about it.
So many beautiful libraries in your gallery…and so important!
January 30th, 2009 at 6:38 am
The use of the word ‘penultimate’ surprised me as well, but that’s not important :)
When I looked at the images of Walker’s library, something made me think that he really is not a reader. Well, maybe he has another (would that be the ultimate personal library, uh?) library that he actually uses to store the books that he reads. See, on the shelves of his library I see a lot of books facing the viewer with their covers, not the spines, as usual. This means that books are used primarily as a decorative element. It also means that for every book strategically places like that there are4-5 books totally covered and obscured by it. Not to mention that there are too many curiosities in Walker’s library that draw attention away from the books. Other than that, what can I say? Absolutely stunning!
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Those are really some amazing buildings there I wish we had something cool like that where I live.
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:10 am
This is awesome!Think Seattle and Vancouver Libraries will make good case studies in my class project!!Cool designs should say…
May 5th, 2009 at 4:23 am
thats totaly boody ballz!
dude, i wish i had this libray at my school
if i did i would read every day.
May 12th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
these libraries are all incredible– i’m doing a bookstore design project for school and looking to these as inspiration. thanks for sharing, everyone!
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