| Architect |
Henning Larsen |
| Date Built |
1997 -
1999 |
| Location |
Kung Oscars Väg |
| Description |
|
| Malmo’s city
library is made up of three
elements. Working from left to
right above, you have the original
building, known as the old “Castle”,
designed by John Smedberg and built in
1901. In the centre the circular
building, known as the “Cylinder”, acts
as the library entrance and also
contains a café. On the right is
the library extension called the
“Calendar of Light”, a large open space
with a glass wall providing a view of
the city park across the street.
The Cylinder and the Calendar of Light
were designed by the architect Henning
Larsen. These three elements are
linked by glass corridors. Henning Larsen says of the building that, “Daylight plays an essential role in all building spaces and is experienced as a stimulating and varying element during all hours of the day. The entrance space is lit up from above along the walls while the central space fills the entire room with light flowing down and filtered through the storeys. Here, the sky constitutes the view. The large library space functions as a kind of ‘calendar of light’ where the light is coloured by the leaves of the large trees in the park.”  The library’s website says that it, “ ... has almost 1 million visitors each year and is as well-known for its beautiful architecture as for how it seeks out new ways to offer knowledge and entertainment in a multicultural Malmö. The library has been rewarded with several prizes such as Library of the Year in Sweden, the Swedish National Encyclopedia’s Knowledge Award and Malmö City’s Integration Prize, among other things for using the services of multilingual upper secondary school students to help visitors who cannot speak Swedish.” |
|
|
Malmo City Library,
Sweden
     |
