Danish architecture studio Cobe has won the competition for the new University of Gothenburg library, with a design that evokes the pages of a book being opened.
The 16,000-square-metre library will be situated in the university area of Näckrosen near the centre of Gothenburg, Sweden's second largest city.
Cobe's design for the building has a cubic form, but with a slight curvature to the volume that is said to be informed by the shape of a book as it is opened.
Cobe's design features a volume that curves like the pages of a book opening
The white facade, striped with vertical elements that act as a sun screen, further enhances the resemblance to stacked pages. This volume will be made from light ceramic panels and sit on top of a ground floor wrapped in floor-to-ceiling windows. The design is meant to make the building feel open to the surrounding park while still standing out as a "beacon of knowledge" to all in the area, according to Cobe founder Dan Stubbergaard.
"The book serves as the inspiration and point of departure for the design ? the building volume, its colours and materials all point to a book being opened," said Stubbergaard.
"Regardless of which direction you approach it from, you are invited in. The integration of the building and park was a key consideration from the outset, and we have deliberately preserved as much of the existing park landscape as possible."
An open and transparent ground floor will make the building feel ...