Image via Complex Original
When we think of libraries, sometimes we think of silence, boredom, and books. Around the world, however, some designated places of study harbor impressive architecture and the latest technologies. From modern to classic, this list of The 25 Coolest College Libraries will take you through a tour of the best places to be doing your reading and academic work.
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25. Princeton University Julian Street Library
25. Princeton University Julian Street Library
Location: Princeton, NJ
Architect: Joel Sanders
A former reading room was turned into a color-filled, technological library as part of an interior makeover. Using blue throughout the space and incorporating maple floors and surfaces, the new library allows for calm study.
24. Robert and Yadelle Sklare Family Library at Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee
24. Robert and Yadelle Sklare Family Library at Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee
Location: Northern Israel
Architect: Schwartz Besnosoff Architects
A glass surface offers views of the Sea of Gailee to admire while working. While more private reading areas are available, open, informal seating in a bright environment encourages an enjoyable experience.
23. Riggs Library at Georgetown University
23. Riggs Library at Georgetown University
Location: Washington, DC
Architect: Paul Pelz
Riggs Library was Georgetown University's main library from 1891 to 1970, but it is now used mostly as a reception space. It still houses books and is one of the U.S.' few remaining cast iron libraries.
22. University Of Versailles Science Library
22. University Of Versailles Science Library
Location: Versailles, France
Architect: Badia Berger Architects
With an open facade of windows on its east side and open interior spaces, the library promotes interconnectivity. The entry hall, reading rooms, and other interior spaces are situated on varying levels that allow for views to be enjoyed and spaces to be easily navigated.
21. Utrecht University Library
21. Utrecht University Library
Location: Utrecht, The Netherlands
Architect: Grosfeld van der Velde Architecten
The library complex contains six buildings, mostly for book storage and archives. After remodeling the existing buildings, architects opened up interior spaces to make them brighter for students and for books to exist in a suitable environment.
20. Myongji University Bangmok Library
20. Myongji University Bangmok Library
Location: Seoul, Korea
Architect: Gansam Architects & Associates
A central lobby lit by skylights creates an open space with trees and wooden decor. Its exterior is made of U-Glass, which filters light instead of directly reflecting it.
19. Fisher Fine Arts Library at the University of Pennsylvania
19. Fisher Fine Arts Library at the University of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia
Architect: Frank Furness
Originally named the Furness Library after its architect, the Fisher Fine Arts Library received its new name in 1992. A dome-shaped area serves as a reading room and accomodates collections of art, architecture, regional planning, landscape architecture, studio art, and urban design.
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18. Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto
18. Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto
Location: Toronto
Architect: Mathers and Haldenby, Toronto with Warner, Burns, Toan and Lunde, New York
As Canada's largest rare book library, its collection includes books, manuscripts, and digital collections. Some of the library's rarest items include a Babylonian cuneiform tablet and Shakespeare's First Folio.
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17. Langara College Library
17. Langara College Library
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Architect: Teeple Architects
This highly eco-friendly building serves Langara College's Library and Classroom program. With roof technologies that make use of rain and wind, geothermal heating, and indoor air quality control, the structure is courteous to both its environment and users.
16. Chungwoon University Library
16. Chungwoon University Library
Location: Chungnam, Republic of Korea
Architect: Hyunjoon Yoo Architects & DANU
Making use of its sloped site, the library was designed to provide mountain views to the south, fresh air, and sunlight. The building also houses offices and a lecture hall, but was based on the design of the library and its outdoor terrace area.
15. Trinity College Library
15. Trinity College Library
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Architect: Thomas Burgh
Now known as the Old Library at Trinity College, its main chamber, the Long Room, houses over 200,000 old books. Its collection began in 1743 and now includes rare copies of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic and an antique harp dating back to the 15th century.
14. Tama Art University Library
14. Tama Art University Library
13. University of Michigan Law Library
13. University of Michigan Law Library
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Architect: Gunnar Birkerts & Associates
Facing an outdoor quadrangle, the law library includes a grand reading room and a new basement addition. While the original study space has high ceilings and intricate decor, it is actually darker than the basement which receives natural light through glass roof windows.
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12. Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University
12. Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University
Location: Provo, UT
Architect: FFKR Architects
From a distance, the glass-encased Harold B. Lee Library may seem like a greenhouse. A remodel by FFKR Architects added three basement levels for classrooms, book stacks, and study areas.
11. James B. Hunt Jr. Library at North Carolina State University
11. James B. Hunt Jr. Library at North Carolina State University
Location: Raleigh, NC
Architect: Snohetta
Opened just earlier this year, the James B. Hunt Jr. Library is one of the most modern and high-tech creations of its kind. Filled with video displays and touchscreen kiosks, the collection is organized by the bookBot, which digitally codes, organizes, stores, and retrieves books while only a minority of volumes are put out on accessible display.
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10. Linderman Library at Lehigh University
10. Linderman Library at Lehigh University
Location: Bethlehem, PA
Architect: Addison Hutton
The Linderman Library's notable Victorian rotunda is a beautiful area for studying and browsing books. Housing the university's humanities collections, it includes rare volumes such as Darwin's Origin of Species and James John Audubon's four volume elephant folio edition of Birds of America.
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9. Philological Library of the Free University in Berlin
9. Philological Library of the Free University in Berlin
Location: Berlin
Architect: Norman Foster
Aluminum and glazed panels make up the exterior of this rounded dome structure, nicknamed the "Berlin Brain." Allowing for plenty of light in the studying environment, it also has interior floors that allow for connectivity within the space.
8. UNAM Central University City Campus Library
8. UNAM Central University City Campus Library
Location: Mexico City
Architect: Juan O'Gorman
Located on an UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) campus, the library's exterior is decorated with impressive murals. Paintings and mosaics depict cultural elements as the southern facade reflects zodiac wheels of colonial times, the northern portrays Aztec culture, the eastern portrays modern Mexico, and the western portrays Latin America.
7. University of Aberdeen New Library
7. University of Aberdeen New Library
Location: Aberdeen, UK
Architect: Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects
The New Library for one of the oldest English language universities in the world features a stark exterior and a spiraling interior. Sociability and interaction are promoted with the connected spaces inside and the addition of a public square.
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6. Folkwang Library
6. Folkwang Library
Location: Essen, Germany
Architect: Max Dudler
The Folkwang Library was built at the site of a former military hospital but now represents music in its facade containing 12 images for each of the 12 notes on a music score. Its collection includes three musical archives, organized throughout a three-floor reading room and other areas.
5. University Library of the University of Amsterdam
5. University Library of the University of Amsterdam
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Architect: Studio Roelof Mulder & Bureau Ira Koers
The University Library's study areas include fun furniture such as tree stump seats, kitchen tables, and couches. Its main feature is its automated collection room, aligned with red crates from which students can pick up digitally ordered books at any time of the day.
4. Delft University of Technology Library
4. Delft University of Technology Library
Location: Delft, The Netherlands
Architect: Mecanoo Architects
The library is covered by a large grass-covered roof and features a cone-shaped decoration designed to represent technology. Its sloping metal roof creates spaces underneath for stacks of rare books and also more common volumes located on a suspended bookcase.
3. Diné College Library
3. Diné College Library
Location: Shiprock, NM
Architect: DLR Group
Diné College is the first tribally-controlled college in the United States and serves serves the Navajo Nation across Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Its library was carefully designed to create spaces and elements that reflect the tribe's world views, including the Storytelling Room and ceilings decorated with constellations.
2. Musashino Art University Museum & Library
2. Musashino Art University Museum & Library
Location: Tokyo
Architect: Sou Fujimoto
A library built from bookshelves, the Musashino Art University Library is in the shape of a single spiral. While not all of its shelf space is filled, the surfaces serve as an appropriately themed decor.
1. University of Indonesia Central Library
1. University of Indonesia Central Library
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Architect: Denton Corker Marshall
The University of Indonesia's Central Library has impressive green roofs and lakeside views. Book stacks occupy a total of five stories, while an open interior includes newly added facilities such as a food court and exhibition space that promote socializing.
