All booked up: Herzog & de Meuron makes progress on Israeli National Library

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
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
The new Phone 2 Pro from CMF combines generous scale with true affordability
We explore the ins and outs of the CMF Phone 2 Pro, the newest device from the Nothing sub-brand that focuses on bold design and carefully honed value engineering
By Jonathan Bell
-
‘I’ve considered every single detail’: how Victoria Beckham designed the perfect make-up brush collection
Victoria Beckham speaks to Wallpaper* about the meticulous design process behind her debut collection of make-up brushes, which perfectly treads a line between form and function
By Hannah Tindle
-
Can Maserati modernise or is the sun setting on one of Italy’s most beloved automotive brands?
Maserati’s GranTurismo Folgore is an epic electric grand tourer without equal. If only its traditionalist customers wanted it more
By Jonathan Bell
-
Bold, geometric minimalism rules at Toteme’s new store by Herzog & de Meuron in China
Toteme launches a bold, monochromatic new store in Beijing – the brand’s first in China – created by Swiss architecture masters Herzog & de Meuron
By Ellie Stathaki
-
Herzog & de Meuron’s Children’s Hospital in Zurich is a ‘miniature city’
Herzog & de Meuron’s Children’s Hospital in Zurich aims to offer a case study in forward-thinking, contemporary architecture for healthcare
By Ellie Stathaki
-
Look inside Sixth&Blanco, Herzog & de Meuron’s first project in Texas
Step 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
By Ellie Stathaki
-
Herzog & de Meuron’s SIP Main Campus weaves together nature and sculptural concrete
SIP Main Campus, a new workspace by Herzog & de Meuron, completes on the Swiss-French border
By Ellie Stathaki
-
Royal Academy’s Herzog & de Meuron show in London spotlights architecture for care
The 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
By Amah-Rose Mcknight Abrams
-
New Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance extension creates transparency with stone
The Ari Kushner Building for the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (JAMD) is completed, creating transparency with stone, and channelling chaos into its corridors
By Herbert Wright
-
The pioneering architecture of Nigerian artist-designer Demas Nwoko
The 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
By Ijeoma Ndukwe
-
Herzog & de Meuron and Piet Oudolf unveil Philadelphia’s Calder Gardens design
Herzog & 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
By Hannah Silver