BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA

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Title	BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA
Alternate Title	New Library of Alexandria, Alexandria New Library
View	General view from the corniche, showing the east elevation and the reflecting pool (the corniche is on the right)
Notes	educational
Work Type	library: research library
Style/Period	Modern: Neo-Rationalist
Creator Name	Snohetta AS
Creator Nationality	Norwegian
School of Creator	Modern: Neo-Rationalist
Major Design Aspects	datum line forms differentiate functions innovative vast scale cavernous
Elements & Spatial Types	plaza reflecting pool colonnade
Climate Type	Mediterranean
Country	Egypt
City	Alexandria
Architectural Material	concrete, glass, granite
Structural System	concrete: poured concrete
Patron	UNESCO, Arab Republic of Egypt
Dates	1990-2002
Century	20C
Designation/Awards/Inscriptions	open competition: 1st prize; Outstanding Structures Award (2003)
Photographer	Scott Gilchrist, Archivision
Date Photographed	8/17/1998
Subject Information	The ancient library was founded by Aristotle's pupil, Demetrius of Phalerum, in the fourth century BC. By the middle of the first century BC, the Alexandria Library contained perhaps 700,000 manuscripts on papyrus, all fully catalogued with a summary of their content and shelved alphabetically By author.. It was the largest collection of books the world had ever seen. As its fame spread, many noted scholars took up residence in the library. The library stood for at least 300 years after its foundation. In AD 30 the library was partly lost to fire and finally destroyed by earthquake. It wasn't until 1974 that the idea of reviving the old library was taken up again. The University of Alexandria formed a committee which decided to locate the reborn library on a plot of land along the seaside boulevard on the Mediterranean, a site near the probable location of the original library. In September 1988 an international competition was launched by UNESCO and the International Union of Architects to find a design that would rise to the architectural challenge of providing in one structure a functional library, an inviting public building and a monument to civilization. The winner - chosen from more than 500 entries from 77 countries - was Snohetta, an Oslo architecture and landscape firm. The design features a cylindrical building, set in a pool, with a L-shape cut out of its plan; the cylinder 's gridded glass roof stands downward until part of it disappears below ground level. The cylinder - a 160 meters in diameter - echoes the hieroglyph meaning sun' with a dramatic rise and fall of the building above and below ground. The highest point of its tilting roof is 32 meters above ground, and the building descends to 12 meters below ground level. The interior will consist of seven primary and 14 secondary levels in the form of terraces, all within one great cylindrical form. Natural light, admitted by the dramatic angled glass roof, will be diffused and controlled by a complex system of baffles like upside-down umbrellas. The massive curving outer wall, built of concrete, will be covered in calligraphic carvings. The design is an abstract composition of letters from different ancient and modern languages. The new library will be far more public than the ancient one can ever have been. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina will become one of the world's 20 biggest national repositories of books. Its ultimate capacity is eight million volumes, and it will include science and calligraphy museums and a music library as well.' Source: www.angelfire.com/al/alexandriano1/bibliot.html *** 'The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a vast cultural complex rising on the shore of the Mediterranean, a stone's throw away from the location of the Ancient Library of Alexandria, is an Egyptian enterprise of international scope and ambitions. It is our hope that the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina will be a worthy successor to the Ancient Library of Alexandria. That great library was a unique ecumenical effort of the human intellect and imagination and remains engraved in the memories of all scientists and intellectuals to this day. The Ancient Library is undeniably the greatest chapter in the history of Alexandria. But our great city, founded by Alexander and home to Cleopatra, has had a remarkable history of 2300 years...So that is the setting for the new Library of Alexandria. A library for up to eight million books, three museums, five research institutes, several exhibition galleries, a planetarium and a conference center that can accommodate some 3000 seats. The beautiful new building, with its distinctive granite wall covered by the letters of all the world's alphabets, is today a recognizable landmark of the new Alexandria.' Source: www.takingitglobal.org/opps/orgdir.html?vieworg=3714 The new Bibliotheca Alexandrina is to be: 1) The window of the world on Egypt 2)The window of Egypt on the world. 3) An instrument for rising to the digital challenge 4) A center for dialogue between peoples and civilizations 5) Bibliotheca Alexandrina won first prize as Best building in Africa and the Middle East (World Architecture Awards 2002 held in Berlin)
Credit Line	Archivision Inc. (all images copyright Scott Gilchrist / archivision.com)
Collection Title	Archivision (architecture, urban design, gardens, landscapes and public art)
Collection information	Collection administered by the Visual Resources manager, Architecture Library, (402) 472-1193

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