Light and Silence: 8 Libraries Cast in White Concrete

Materials can say a lot. Contrary to the announcement made by colored paint which shouts itself out to the world, the innate material qualities of a wall, roof or floor are often much more subtle: the grain of a wood, the coolness of steel, a chalky expanse of brick. The examples in this collection all employ the inherent properties of concrete in service of a single building type: the library, specifically in a bright, white fashion.

This typology and style of material go hand in hand. White concrete is a quiet material in the mood it conveys, and is employed here to foreground the activities that are commonplace in a library, such as reading or studying. It can also provide a stark, elegant contrast with its surroundings, as many buildings in this collection do. Whatever the context or rationale, in each example it’s clear that this particular material was chosen for its sensible properties, and it communicates an austere serenity in keeping with each building’s literary program.

Lons le Saunier Library by DU BESSET-LYON ARCHITECTES, Lons-le-Saunier, France

The presence of this sharp, angular structure in a densely built town center is softened by the chalky white concrete of its exterior. Intended to complete an urban ensemble in respect to an adjacent church and hotel, the mineral qualities of the façade both blend in and stand out from its surroundings. Inside, the library is apportioned across three floors in a single, open volume.

The Research Library in Hradec Králové by Projektil architekti s.r.o., Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

This library is housed in two of the legs of a large “X”-shape made from precast concrete. Study rooms and bookshelves are distributed on three levels inside these masses, which are perforated by an array of circular windows punched through the façade.

Library in Anzin by Dominique Coulon & Associés, Anzin, France

Material expression is an integral part of the façade for this structure, allowing several variations to take place (gloss, matte, stippling, etc.) without losing its sense of whole. This logic follows through to the interior, where bright, white concrete walls fold out from themselves in an inverse pattern relative to the exterior. Carried throughout, this strategy gives this library a crisp, quiet expression on every surface.

Joan Maragall Library by BCQ arquitectura barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

Small, box-like forms pop up from underneath an old garden to define the massing of this Spanish library. While most of the structure’s volume is underground, the small pieces that emerge from below delineate a series of patios. The designers have assigned different themes to each patio, using a blank, white concrete exterior to impart notions such as “light and silence” and “knowledge and books.”

Stormen Library by DRDH Architects, Bodø, Norway

The design for this library is paired with an adjacent concert hall, with both buildings taking advantage of a local stone to give a bright white coloration to their façades. Facing an active harbor, the library is organized around a central reading room intended to feel like a landscape, with the building’s primary circulation running both horizontally and vertically through this center.

Jasper Place Branch Library by HCMA Architecture + Design, Edmonton, Canada

Concrete formwork was employed on the interior here to meet a structural mandate that the primary social space of this library be entirely column-free. The blank slate offered by this material choice mirrors the blank slate offered by the question at the heart of this project’s program: what is a library’s social function in a book-less, digital age?

Sant Josep Library byRamón Esteve Estudio, Valencia, Spain

Contrast against context was the choice made for the material usage on this library. Bright, orthogonal forms stand out against forested green surroundings, allowing the structure to take on an otherworldly feel. Separate courtyards on its interior house isolated bits of greenery in an inverse reflection of the nature around it.

Yogananda Library by archohm, Solan, India

Elevation and solitude are imparted by the form and material combination for this structure, which is supported by a series of concrete tubes resting on a hill. These tubes help define a wall plane that appears to peel away from an inner shell of the building, affording an expansive view from the majority of the interior.