Last we checked it was still frigid outside. So unless you’re on deck for New York Fashion Week, or Social Media Week for that matter (ahem!), it’s the perfect time to curl up with a good book. (Need recommendations? Start with these.)

In honor, we’ve rounded up ten incredible libraries from the Architizer database – mostly large-scale and public, with one amazing ‘scholar’s library’ in the woods thrown in for good measure. We don’t all get a library card for an OMA masterpiece, but these ten are proof that library design is alive and well.

1. National Technical Library in Prague by Projektil architekti s.r.o. (Czech Republic, 2009).

2. Cite du Design Saint-Etienne by LIN GMBH (France, 2009).

3. Public Library Kelsterbach by Bernd Mueller (Germany, 2003).

4. Research Library in Hradec Králové by Projektil architekti s.r.o. (Czech Republic, 2008)

5. Carnegie Library at Squirrel Hill by Front Studio (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2005).

6. Guanajuato State Library by Pei Partnership Architects LLP (Mexico, 2006). Photos: Alberto Moreno Guzman.

7. Technical University in Delft by Firm of the Week Mecanoo architecten (Delft, Netherlands, 1998).

8. Bloor Gladstone Library by (RDH) Rounthwaite, Dick & Hadley Architects (Toronto, Canada, 2009)

9. Scholar’s Library by Peter Gluck and Partners (New York, 2003). Photos: Paul Warchol.

10. Hockessin Public Library by ikon.5 architects (Delaware, 2008). Note: we doubt the architects had anything to do with the furniture selection.

And what’s a library roundup without a nod to the granddaddy of them all? That would be the Rem Koolhaas with OMA-designed Seattle Public Library. Scope the Architizer project page here.

by Kelsey Keith

posted in top ten

tagged Bernd Mueller, civic architecture, Front Studio, ikon.5 architects, libraries, LIN GMBH, mecanoo architecten, oma, Pei Partnership, peter gluck, Projektil architekti, required reading, top ten

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