The city of Athens has just been named World Book Capital for 2018 by UNESCO (more info here)! On this occasion, we thought that it would be nice to present some recent and older library projects around the globe to celebrate this major cultural event. We remind you that the National Library of Greece, currently housed in a neo-classical edifice in the center of Athens designed by the Dane architect Theophilus Hansen, will be later hosted in the new complex of Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, in Phaliro (south distruct of town).
Today we feature the new home of Lambeth Palace Library, designed by the London-based firm Wright & Wright. Lambeth Palace Library is the historic library and record office of the Archbishops of Canterbury and the principal repository of the documentary history of the Church of England. Its collections have been freely available for research since 1610.
The building will be located at the north end of Lambeth Palace gardens on the south bank of the Thames, just opposite to the Houses of Parliament and will contain the library`s massive collection of religious texts, the second-larger in central Europe after the Vatican. Moreover the Lambeth Palace Library is the main archive for the Church of England.
According to the studio, that won a competition about the project and unveiled its plans about a week ago: “Clad in red clay brick, the design will pay homage to the surrounding historical Palace buildings. The archives are elevated above any potential flooding and the building forms a bulwark, which screens this part of the garden from pollution and traffic noise, whilst also enclosing a pond.”
The building will be completed by the end of 2020.
ΑDDITION TO LAMBETH PALACE BY WRIGHT & WRIGHT / RENDERING BY PICTURE PLANE
ΑDDITION TO LAMBETH PALACE BY WRIGHT & WRIGHT / RENDERING BY PICTURE PLANE
ΑDDITION TO LAMBETH PALACE BY WRIGHT & WRIGHT / RENDERING BY PICTURE PLANE
ΑDDITION TO LAMBETH PALACE BY WRIGHT & WRIGHT / RENDERING BY PICTURE PLANEREAD ALSO: AZL ARCHITECTS DESIGN A STUNNING CHURCH IN A CHINESE GARDEN