Cool Bookish Places

Cool Bookish Places: The National Library of Israel

Jeff O'Neal

CEO and co-founder

Jeff O'Neal is the executive editor of Book Riot and Panels. He also co-hosts The Book Riot Podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @thejeffoneal.

I’m cheating a little with this one. See, the National Library of Israel is definitely a cool bookish place, but it doesn’t strictly….exist. At least not yet.

At this point, the library is in its design and competition phase, but Moshe Safdie, just released high-resolution renderings of his proposed design, and it is marvelous.

Light, airy, and open, Safdie’s design manages to put the national library’s collection on display, accommodate patrons in inviting workspaces, and do it while making the building responsive to its geography. The most striking feature, the tent-like light permeable roof, creates the main reading room for the library, which as a result is remarkably open, even as the exterior of the building feels itself like a monument, and it is clad in textured Jerusalem stone.

The site of the proposed library is in the Jerusalem’s central district and close to an array of cultural and government offices. There’s still a long way to go in this process, but this design is going to be tough to beat.

safdie inside

 

safdie reflecting pool

 

safdie reading room

 

safdie medium shot

____________________________

Sign up for our newsletter to have the best of Book Riot delivered straight to your inbox every two weeks. No spam. We promise.

To keep up with Book Riot on a daily basis, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, , and subscribe to the Book Riot podcast in iTunes or via RSS. So much bookish goodness–all day, every day.