Stuttgart’s new Public Library

Stuttgart is now a bibliophile’s paradise. The new Public Library by Eun Young Yi is a celebration of the books it houses, and a masterpiece of contemporary architecture.

Eun’s proposal was selected in 1999 from 235 competition entries as the plan for the new central library of the City of Stuttgart. The building of the 80-million Euro Stadtbibliothek am Mailänder Platz began three years ago and the opening ceremonies took place last month.

Eun says he designed the library to be “an absolutely homogeneous and peaceful, monolithic building which carries in it many secret values of our civilization”. Not only was the architect inspired by the history the books contain, the actual building also draws influence from Etienne-Louis Bouleé’s 18^th Century French National Library.

The library, located in the city centre, towers over the adjacent buildings. The grey cube, made of pale fair-faced concrete and frosted glass bricks is imposing in the right kind of way, like a thick encyclopaedia waiting to be explored.

The building is designed as a double façade consisting of the outer glass brick level and an inner mullion façade — this creates a thermal shell, an innovative way to regulate temperature. This space also illuminates a blue glow at night, giving the building a contemporary feel. The interior of the building is monochromatic in white, letting the rows of books add life and colour.

As a clever nod to the fact that the building is a storehouse of words, the word “library” is installed in four languages on the outside walls. On the North wall in German (the local language), West in English, South in Arabic (the language of ancient knowledge and of Stuttgart’s sister city, Cairo) and East in Korean (Yi’s native language).

The ‘heart’ of the building (as Eun refers to it) is at its centre. “This is a place for meditation, located in an archaic room type which, like the Pantheon, refers to the prehistoric cave as a human dwelling,” Eun says. This central part of the building is lit up by the oculus skylight and is surrounded by stairs, which link the eight floors above and two below from all angles.

By eliminating any superfluous elements Eun has created a building that is striking in its bold lines, sheer size and clever use of materials. Stuttgart will undoubtedly see a rise in the number of bookworms in the city.

More information: www.yiarchitects.com