The New Central Library in Calgary by Snøhetta, designed and managed in association with DIALOG, presents a captivating image with its bold form and its expressive cladding. The building shares some similarities with the transformative Grande Bibliothèque du Québec in Montreal designed by Patkau Architects (with Croft Pelletier and Menkès Schooner Dagenais architectes, 2005). Both occupy inauspicious sites not normally associated with major cultural institutions. And both rise to the challenge of their respective locations, to create urban buildings of crucial public worth. ...