With the weight of history firmly on its shoulders, Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron is in the midst of constructing one of Israel’s most valuable cultural institutions – its National Library.
The cornerstone for the library’s new permanent home was laid in Jerusalem this April, signalling the start of a four-year construction process in which Herzog & de Meuron aims to unite a number of distinct elements central to the ancient city and the changing state of the modern library.
The new structure will cover 34,000 sq m in West Jerusalem’s National District, amid the nation’s most important civic and cultural institutions, including the Israel Museum and the Knesset. While the city’s architectural heritage conjures images of the narrow, stone-walled streets and souks of the Old City, its crosstown location is defined by contrasting modernity, with plenty of room for the library’s central structural element: a sweeping, singular curve of Jerusalem limestone that forms its upper volume.
Unsurprisingly, books will take centre stage here – a central skylight continues downward through the stone upper levels of the library, creating an illuminated, central void where each curve is lined with books.
Collaborating with Israeli architectural and planning firm Mann Shinar, Herzog & de Meuron has also considered the Library’s mission to evolve in the digital age, marrying the physical collection with the need for creative, interdisciplinary, and often virtual approaches. Five glass vitrines make up the bottom two floors, anchoring the library with its physical collection, rendering the inner-workings of the space visible to passers-by. The stone mass, which sits at the entry level, will also host an exhibition programme, café, bookstore, auditorium and youth centre, with free-flowing access to the central reading room.
'The diversity of functions and the connection to the city ensure that the library will remain a strong and vibrant institution in the future,' Herzog & de Meuron says.
The library’s permanent home is in West Jerusalem’s National District, amid the nation’s most important civic and cultural institutions, such as the Israel Museum and the Knesset
The relatively low-rise building’s impressive form is created by a single, sweeping curve clad in off-white Jerusalem limestone
Inside, the tomes take centre stage, with a central round skylight illuminating the book-lined walls below
Herzog & de Meuron collaborated on the project with Israeli architectural and planning firm Mann Shinar
INFORMATION
For more information, visit Herzog & de Meuron's website
Imagery courtesy Herzog & de Meuron
-
Serenade your senses at Farasha Farmhouse in MarrakechFarasha Farmhouse is a serene escape hidden on the outer reaches of Marrakech
-
‘Bio-spaces’ exhibition at Roca London Gallery celebrates biophilic design‘Bio-Spaces: regenerative, resilient futures’ opens at the Roca London Gallery as ‘a call to action to stop designing nature out’
-
Les Lalanne’s surreal world takes over Venice‘Planète Lalanne’, presented by Ben Brown Fine Arts, takes over Palazzo Rota Ivancich, with a cast of blue hippos, woolly sheep and giant grasshoppers
-
Look inside Sixth&Blanco, Herzog & de Meuron’s first project in TexasStep inside Sixth&Blanco by Herzog & de Meuron, as the Swiss studio reveals interior images of its first ever Texas design, a forward-thinking, sustainable and mixed-use scheme
-
Herzog & de Meuron’s SIP Main Campus weaves together nature and sculptural concreteSIP Main Campus, a new workspace by Herzog & de Meuron, completes on the Swiss-French border
-
Royal Academy’s Herzog & de Meuron show in London spotlights architecture for careThe Royal Academy of Arts launches its Herzog & de Meuron exhibition in London; we speak to them about the show, their approach to healthcare architecture and caring, and their rich body of work
-
New Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance extension creates transparency with stoneThe Ari Kushner Building for the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (JAMD) is completed, creating transparency with stone, and channelling chaos into its corridors
-
The pioneering architecture of Nigerian artist-designer Demas NwokoThe work of pioneering Nigerian artist-designer Demas Nwoko has stood the test of time; as he is awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Biennale Architettura 2023
-
Herzog & de Meuron and Piet Oudolf unveil Philadelphia’s Calder Gardens designHerzog & de Meuron and Piet Oudolf's design for the new Calder Gardens in downtown Philadelphia is set to be a tranquil tribute to artist Alexander Calder
-
Talent House opens in east London to nurture diverse talent in the artsThe Talent House is an enclave for London’s future arts talent
-
Twin cultural destination Photo Elysée and Mudac completed in LausanneArchitecture studio Aires Mateus completes its building to house Photo Elysée and Mudac in Lausanne, Switzerland
