Fyyri Library in the Finnish town of Kirkkonummi

Helsinki-based JKMM Architects has renovated and extended a library named Fyyri in the Finnish town of Kirkkonummi. The studio doubled the size of the previous library and wrapped it entirely in a copper facade to create a counterpoint to the town’s medieval stone church. “The core urban concept was to design a modern counterpart to…

A curved Innovative Thinking Centre for Yale University

The Yale University Center for Innovative Thinking by architecture studio Weiss/Manfredi is an elliptical glass pavilion for students on the New Haven campus. New York City-based Weiss/Manfredi designed the two-storey pavilion to stand out from the brutalist and gothic-style buildings of the historic Yale University. The pavilion was built on top of an existing laboratory…

Tainan Public Library

The collaborative team of Mecanoo and MAYU Architects has completed a public library in Tainan — Taiwan‘s oldest city. The design references the history of the region, which comprises remnants of maritime trade with Europe from the 17th century, the Chinese Ming dynasty, and Japanese settlements from the beginning of the 20th century. The library…

Springdale Library in Ontario

In Ontario’s city of Brampton, the Springdale Library and Komagata Maru Park by RDH Architects (RDHA) introduces an inclusive gathering place, a counterpoint to the otherwise flat suburban area, and a point of pride for the Canadian city. The project site was physically constrained, framed by a commercial plaza to the east, a main road…

Giant painted bookcase

Dutch street artist Jan is De Man, in collaboration with Tattoo and graffiti artist Deef Feed, have painted a massive bookcase on the side of an apartment building in Utrecht, Netherlands. The Trompe l’oeil mural features a three-level bookcase — one for each floor of the building — featuring a selection of both the artist’s…

Wormhole Library overlooking the South China Sea

Chinese architecture studio MAD has designed a library in the city of Haikou, China that is intended “to be a wormhole that transcends time and space”. Named the Wormhole Library, the structure is currently under construction within Century Park overlooking the South China Sea in the city of Haikou, which is on the Chinese island…

New Ibsen library, Norway

Kengo Kuma & Associates, in collaboration with Mad Arkitekter and Buro Happold Engineering, have been selected as the winning proposal for the new Ibsen Library in Skien, Norway. The project pays tribute to world-renowned playwright, Henrik Ibsen, by creating an open and engaging cultural hub in his Norwegian birthplace. Kengo Kuma‘s proposal intends to reflect…

Florida University building conveys movement, flight and aerodynamics

This Student Union Building at the Florida Campus of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is inspired by the gracefulness of birds in flight. Designed by Ikon.5 architects, a firm based in New York, the ‘Mori Hosseini’ Student Union is an expression of the university’s mission to teach the science, practice, and business of aviation and aerospace.…

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

Henning Larsen has unveiled its design for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota, US. The proposal takes its cues from the rich landscapes of the north Dakotan badlands, comprising four volumes that peek up from the site’s butte. Complete with a landmark tower, the library becomes a hub for community and fluid threshold…

Japan Women’s University

Photographer Vincent Hecht has documented a library in Tokyo designed by architect Kazuyo Sejima. The project was completed for Japan Women’s University, an institution that Sejima herself attended. The multi-storey building, which forms part of the school’s Mejirodai Campus in Bunkyō, contains a range of resources for students across its different floors. New trees have…
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