by David Vinjamuri and Joseph Huberty 19 min read How do we move forward? As the pandemic swept across America, libraries across broad swaths of the country closed their doors to the public. In the following months, librarians watched as...

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...

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 —...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has completed the new Billie Jean King Main Library situated at the heart of downtown Long Beach, in California. The state-of-the-art, structural timber building features distinct and identifiable interior spaces that maximize square footage and...

Sited within Japan’s Nakanoshima Park in Osaka, a children’s book forest designed by Tadao Ando is expressively clad in colourful books. The renowned Japanese architect is widely known for his emphasis on both atmospheric simplicity and spatial complexity. With his...

Oslo's long-awaited Deichman Bjørvika central library, which stands alongside the Snøhetta-designed opera house on the city's waterfront, has opened to the public in Norway. Designed by Atelier Oslo and Lundhagem, the five-storey building contains space for 450,000 books wrapped around...

A hill-like green roof with a skylight helps to blend this public library by Toronto architecture firm RDHA into its grassy surrounds. Springdale Public Library and the surrounding Komagata Maru Park are located in Brampton, Canada, a suburb outside of...