Europe’s progressive public library in images and text.

After lengthy planning, the new public library in Oslo was completed and opened in summer 2020. Located opposite the Opera House and the Munch Museum, the imposing building fits into the ensemble in the new cultural quarter of the Norwegian capital. The project by Lund Hagem Architects and Studio Oslo emerged from an international architectural competition and is characterized by a radical interpretation of the library as a vivid place to meet and spend time with an impressive multimedia offering in an unobtrusive inviting environment. The publication documents in detail the planning and building process from the first draft to the opening. Essays by the novelist Elif Shafak and the library’s long-time director Liv Sæteren explain the significance of the institution as an integrative social force. Nikolaus Hirsch pays tribute to the building from the perspective of architectural criticism. Iwan Baan and Hélène Binet capture the architecture and atmosphere of the shining crystal in their photographs.