The World Libraries: The Largest Library in Europe Opens in the UK

5 September 2013
Source: RIA Novosti

The largest library in Europe is opened on September 3, 2013, in Birmingham, UK, according to the library building designer’s - the Dutch architectural bureau Mecanoo - website.

The architects have made an unusual project - the transparent façade of a library is bound by a "chain armor" twisted of the intersecting aluminum rings, which refers to the former industrial essence of Birmingham, as explained in the bureau materials.

They specified, that the ten-storied, 35,000 square meters building is toped by a golden rotunda, which houses the Shakespeare Memorial Hall - a restored 1882 Victorian reading room. Sited in front of the building amphitheater is designed for a variety of activities, including little concerts.